I've never worked w/ chocolate clay before- can someone let me know if it hardens? I was thinking of using it on a purse cake for the handle...will this work or would a gumpaste/fondant mix be better? thanks for any feedback

A gumpaste/fondant mixture would be better. Chocolate clay is temperature sensitive, and if the purse cake is displayed in a warm room, or transported in a warm vehicle, it will droop. I use chocolate clay for lots of things (see the tutorials Welcoming William, and Monkey See on my website) but if it needs to support itself I mix it with fondant half-and-half to give it more stability. But for a purse handle, I'd go with fondant or a gumpaste/fondant mix.

HTH,
Deanna