Artificial Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Cups

 If you've been to Japan, you know that pretend food is everywhere, usually in front of restaurants.  They look very realistic and edible.  When I saw kits for making some fake desserts at the Japan Hobby Show, I just had to purchase one.  I was surprised when I opened the kit box to find that it the contents were very simple.  Basically, there were two packets of what seemed like Hearty Clay, one dark brown   (a bit dry) and the other white. Even though the directions were written in Japanese, the diagrams were quite easy to follow and I was able to replicate the fake desserts. I was uncertain what the instructions intended, but I crumpled aluminum foil and placed it in the cups.  Over the foil I glued a circle of brown (slightly dry) clay.  Onto the 'chocolate ice cream' I glued seven ball of white clay and an artificial plastic strawberry.  Finally, tiny fake straws were skewered in. The 'straws' were made with toothpicks covered in striped paper.  As you can tell, this fake sweet is easy to replicate and you don't really need a kit to make it.  I plan to turn these dessert cups into fridge magnets by simply gluing a strong magnet to the back of each one.  These dessert cups are lightweight so they are perfect for this use.  Alternately, you might put heavy rocks or marbles in the bottom of the cups so they can be used as a paperweight.  I'm sure you are clever enough to think of a dessert party favor or small hostess gift. It's cute and  calorie free!