A Chocolatey Way to Get Your Art On

April 15 will be World Art Day, and if you are not a visual artist, you may feel left out or that your only options to celebrate at to visit museums, art galleries, or look at art online. You can make art because there are plenty of kits, directions, and books out there you can use to give you guidance or even a framework in which to work. I love "diamond painting" which doesn't involve diamonds or painting, but it sounds good. Not too long ago I was sent a Chocolate Shop diamond painting kit from Masendp which puts out a lot of the hanging or pendent style of this type of art kit. I got the kit for free via the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a fair and honest review on that page; this article is an unpaid for bonus where I expand upon my experiences with the kit and focus on the chocolate aspect of it.

Painted Side of "Chocolate Shop"

The graphic of the shop is almost the same on the printed side as it is on the adhesive side where you apply the little "gems;" "Chocolate Shop" on the roof is not the same with the "S" under the "P" but you barely see it unless you backlight it. It has 13 different colors of "gems" and none of them are so numerous that you feel overwhelmed by what to do with leftovers. I really liked the larger yellow ones because I like odd shapes and sizes in these kits. This also included a "gem" tray, a square of the wax used to pick up the "gems," and a basic stylist to pick them up. The adhesive is mostly confined to the numbered and lettered dots but some was outside of that which allowed me to add a few unique touches. I started this kit while meeting on Zoom with friends so I could easily do it while chatting and listening. In total it took about four hours to complete.

Diamond Finished Side of "Chocolate Shop"

The finished sign looks better hanging on the wall when the sunlight can hit it, but I wanted to show what I'd done so you can better understand such a kit if you haven't used one before.

The word "shabte" on the piece doesn't seem to have a specific meaning, though it can be found as a surname; perhaps it is the name of the artist? It bothered my husband so I was trying to figure out what it might mean, but it didn't bother me at all.

Some folks might say that these kits aren't you making art. Nothing says that you must follow the color guide. I always try to add something extra including pieces from other kits and in this kit's case, I added in yellow to the two hanging lights and made them the same color when the kit wanted them to be different. Just as you can pick your colors and media when you use a coloring page or go to a pottery making shop, you can do the same to a lesser degree with these types of kits. You are the one who paid for it, you decide how to use it and that if you do that with the sense that you are making art, then you are!

Another art related date to keep in mind is National/International Art Day on October 25th every year.