Sometimes I get a crazy idea in my head at the last minute. OK so I always have crazy ideas in my head but sometimes I let them make an appearance. This idea to make little clay hearts from polymer clay to give to friends for Valentine’s Day was just one of those ideas.
Two years ago I made marbled polymer clay heart necklaces. My daughter still wears hers to this day. They’re simple and fun. But there were a few hearts leftover from that craft that I never made necklaces with. In fact, I added a white area to write and used them for small encouragement trinkets. One of them I even glued a jewelry bail onto and now use it as a keychain.
So the other day, when I was thinking about small simple gifts that I could give for Valentine’s Day, these little hearts came to mind.
I’ve been playing with polymer clay a lot lately. If you follow me on Instagram then you probably have seen some of the earrings that I’ve made and shown in my stories.
Any kind of polymer clay will work to make these little hearts but so far, Sculpey iii is my favorite. I had a lot of hearts to make so I used one and a half packs of red clay and about half a pack of white to make 20 hearts.
Here’s the deal when working with polymer clay: You MUST knead and play with the clay before you use it. This process helps to soften the clay but also activates all the little things that need to happen in order for it to harden in the oven.
I’d love to give you tips for getting the perfect marble but I’ve found that just about any technique will get you a great marble. I’ve tried rolling the colors into clay snakes and then pulling them like a candy cane. I’ve also tried just tearing off little pieces of white and pushing into the red ball before kneading and pulling some more.
Honestly, getting a great marbled look is as simple as playing with it. Roll out a piece and if you don’t like it, add more of one color and do it again.
I do love this acrylic roller for using with clay.
Roll the clay out to at least 1/4″ thick. Some of mine were kinda thick and some were thin. I wasn’t going for perfectly uniformed, I just wanted to give my friends something that would make them smile.
Did I mention that I only had an hour to make them from start to finish? This is a fast project but when you’re making a lot of them and it’s several steps, it adds up.
Once I had the clay rolled out, I freehand cut hearts.
If you want to start working with clay, buy clay tools. They make your life easier.
After I cut out all the hearts, I rolled out plain white clay and made little placards for each heart. I didn’t perfectly measure, I just did what I do – make a mess and somehow still get something out of it.
At this point, I baked the clay according to the package directions. Every type of clay will have different temperatures and times.
Almost immediately as they came out of the oven, I sat down with a permanent marker and wrote words on each heart.
Yes, it’s that easy.
However because I’m an overachiever, I also coated each one with one coat of glaze. It just added a special touch but you don’t have to do that.
But look at these:
They’re small but the perfect thing to toss in your wallet and find sometime when you really need it or maybe even lay on a sidewalk and leave for someone else to find.
These little clay hearts are simple and lovely.
Today is Valentine’s Day, a day we celebrate love. One of the best ways to show love is by spending your time making something that lets people know that you appreciate them. Some people knit (I don’t because that’s just dangerous), other people cook (again… dangerous for me) and some might even do woodworking with power tools (I like my fingers too much to do this) but whatever it is that you do, use it to show others love.
Today I hope you know that you’re loved and worthy of love.
Happy (early) Valentine’s Day friends. If you were here, I’d give you a little clay heart.
