Reusing an emptied chocolate advent calendar mold.
Save your chocolate advent calendar boxes! I used my old, emptied plastic chocolate advent calendar to mold polymer clay Christmas charms. My favorite part was painting the charm pieces I made into pins or mini tree ornaments.
About Chocolate Advent Calendars
If you're not familiar with advent calendars, they're a unique way to countdown or mark off the 24 days in December leading up to Christmas.
Chocolate advent calendar boxes typically have a Christmas-themed artwork on the front and 24 or 25 perforated doors. The objective is to pry open a door a day, starting with #1 on December 1st, to pull out a small piece of chocolate to devour.
Most of the chocolate advent calendars I received in years past consisted of small chocolate pieces molded into the shape of traditional Christmas symbols like wreaths, reindeer, or Santa Claus himself.
If you have an emptied chocolate advent calendar box, don't be too quick to throw it away. Check to see if the tray that housed the chocolate pieces can be reused as a mold. If so, wash off any chocolate residue and get ready for a fun clay project!
Molding the Polymer Clay Charms
I chose to use my Original Sculpey polymer clay for this craft project, but air-dry clay and non-hardening clay like Play-Doh would work as well.
I kneaded the clay to soften it slightly, but I found that firm clay releases from the plastic mold easier and more neatly than softer clay. I don't know if a mold release agent would work well with the plastic mold because I don't have any currently.
I rolled a small piece of clay and pressed it firmly into a mold cavity. Since the tray I worked with was clear, I'd flip the tray over to ensure the entire mold cavity was filled completely.
When I was ready to demold the clay, I gently pulled up along the edges until the entire clay piece came out.
I used an old, dull knife to cut off excess clay around the charm's shape. This could be done with a plastic knife like the ones that come with some Play-Doh craft kits. I also used a dotting tool on eyes and buttons.
There were some imperfections and rough edges I smoothed over with my fingers or a shaper tool. If I couldn't easily smooth over imperfections, it was easy enough to roll up the clay and try again.
Removing Fingerprints
My fingerprints were all over the clay charms from handling frequently prior to this point. I lightly brushed baby oil over the charms to brush off most of the fingerprint marks. I didn't brush over the charms much because I didn't want to accidentally brush off the design details.
Unfortunately, the baby oil trick didn't seem to work with removing dust or lint particles. This didn't concern me because I intended to paint over all the charm pieces I created.
Baking the Polymer Clay Charms
Polymer clay needs to be baked to become permanent. If you're crafting with clay that needs to be baked, follow the package's baking instructions. Do a test bake if it's your first-time baking polymer clay to see if the instructions work well with your personal oven.
Personally, I use a convection oven I bought at a thrift store specifically for baking polymer clay. I initially used my kitchen oven, but worried about any possible contamination of food that I'd later bake in the same oven.
Baked clay also releases a fume that triggers my migraine. It's a subtle emission that most people probably wouldn't notice, or at least my Dad's never noticed it when he's around. Because it triggers my migraine, I bake my polymer clay on a square tile in a convection oven that resides in my garage.
Painting the Polymer Clay Charms
Painting was the best part of this craft project! I used a variety of acrylic paint colors and brands to decorate the charms. Some charms required several coats of paint, especially when I used thinner paints like tempera.
I decided to use metallic, glitter, and color shift paint on a most of the charms. I like adding a little shine and shimmer to my crafts.
Final Details
I adhered butterfly clutch blank pins to the backs of my favorite charms. I thought these would be nice to pin onto my face mask for the few times I'm out and about during this pandemic.
I then adhered eye pins to the backs of the remaining charms. I was going to add some jump rings to attach a charm or two to my dogs' collars, but then decided to use them on a miniature Christmas tree I sat on my desk.
My Thoughts
This was a fun polymer clay craft project that kept me preoccupied for a few hours. I wouldn't have cared if the charms turned out horribly, but I was pleased most turned out well.
Experimenting with 'special' paints to add some shine and shimmer was fun. I regret not experimenting with glow-in-the-dark paint since I have a bottle in my cabinet. I think it would've been nice to use it on the angel and star charms.
My favorite charms were Santa (both versions I made), angel, snowman with a top hat, and white teddy bear. My least favorite charm was the brown teddy bear because of the way he stared deep into my soul. It's a bit disturbing and I'll repaint the eyes one day (but probably not).
What's Next?
Since I'm staying in my own home for the first time this holiday season, I have time to bake gingerbread cookies. I just need to decide if it'll be edible or made of polymer clay. Whichever I decided to bake, I'll share my experience with you this Thursday.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam