Valentine’s Day Conversation Hearts

Feel free to personalize these charms for your friends...

Description 

S U S A N ✽Whether or not you celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s hard to avoid these brightly colored candies in February. I feel as if I’ve made it incredibly clear to everyone I know that I can’t stand the taste of these things, but a box or two inevitably appears on my desk from festive colleagues. Even though the actual candies seem inedible to me, there is something about food that talks that I just can’t resist, whether traditional and sweet (“be mine”) or oddly tech-savvy (“email me”).

This recipe uses the phrase “kiss me” since it is both traditional and symmetrical, and therefore easier for beginning writers. Once you’ve got the writing down, feel free to personalize these charms for your friends, family, and, of course, those per- sistent colleagues (or classmates).

Yield: 1 heart

Instructions 

1. 1
   

   Thoroughly mix the white and red clays. Flatten the ball into a 1/8"-(3.2 mm-) thick pancake, then pinch the clay to create a triangle.
2. 2
   

   Make a small cut in the center of one side with your utility knife, then push each side of the cut outward.
3. 3
   

   Smooth each side by pulling the inside of the cut outward onto the side of the triangle.
4. 4
   

   Create a small incision with your utility knife in the notch at the top of the heart, then insert the figure- eight pin. Gently press the heart to fix the pin in place and close the incision.
5. 5
   

   Using the back edge of a utility knife, smooth any remaining roughness around the figure-eight pin.
6. 6
   

   Before you start writing, create guidelines. Use a safety pin to make two faint lines: one marking the vertical middle, the other the horizontal middle.
7. 7
   

   Use your safety pin to imprint the letters from the center outward.
8. 8
   

   Space your letters evenly.
9. 9
   

   To fill in the text with color, roll the magenta clay into a thin snake, roughly as wide as the pin imprint.
10. 10
    

    Cut the thin snake into short segments, and guide each segment into the letter impressions.
11. 11
    

    Smooth out the finished written surface by press- ing the heart gently against your work surface.
12. 12
    

    Bake for 15 minutes at 275 ̊ F (135 ̊ C). Leave the baked heart unglazed to keep the chalky quality of the candy.

    The Many Colors of Love
    Although their flavor never changes, conver- sation hearts traditionally come in six pastel colors: pink, white, violet, yellow, orange, and green. The mixing directions below cover every flavor in the box.
    WHITE: 3/8" (9.5 mm) ball white clay ORANGE: 1⁄4" (6.4 mm) ball orange + 5/16" (8 mm) ball white clay
    GREEN: 3/16" (4.7 mm) ball cadmium yellow + 1/8" (3.2 mm) ball green + 5/16" (8 mm) ball white clays
    YELLOW: 1⁄4" (6.4 mm) ball cadmium yellow + 1⁄4" (6.4 mm) ball white clays
    PURPLE: 3/16" (4.7 mm) ball purple + 1/8" (3.2 mm) ball cadmium red + 1⁄4" (6.4 mm) ball white clays
    For even more variety, try other popular phrases: “love you,” “hug me,” “be mine,” “so fine,” and “maybe.” You can also create your own messages, but be prepared to break out the texting skills; any word should be five let- ters or less to fit, and for authenticity be writ- ten in all capital letters.
13. 13
    

    To Make a Candy Heart Bracelet
    1. Create six hearts, one in each color. Wrap a 3mm opaque pink accent bead above each heart, and leave the top loop open (see page 36).
    2. Individually attach each charm onto a silver bracelet chain, spacing each charm so there is just less than 1" (2.5 cm) between each heart for a 7" (17.8 cm) bracelet.