Valentine's Day Craft

by Heidi Green

Charm your friends and loved-ones this year with an easy Valentine's Day craft. Our Rolled Clay Hearts are kid-friendly (and pretty, too). Use them to embellish cards, gift bags, and tags, or as ornaments on a Valentine's Day tree.

SUPPLY LIST:

• Crayola Model Magic® Clay
• (for a more rustic finish, use homemade salt dough)
• small paperclips
• paintbrush
• ¼ inch ribbon
• masking tape

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Break off a small piece of clay (about the size of a quarter) and form it into a ball.
2. Place the ball on a table or other sturdy work surface and roll it into a thin cylinder, about 1 ½ inches long. Use varying cylinder lengths to create an assortment of heart sizes (the longer the cylinder, the bigger the heart).
3. Curl each cylinder end towards the middle, creating a coil on each side.
4. Bring both coils toward each other and pinch them together lightly to form the two rounded top portions of the heart.
5. Pinch the bottom center to form the bottom point of the heart.
6. Insert a small paperclip where the coils meet (top rounded portion), so the paperclip lays parallel with shape of the heart. Keep a loop (approximately ½ of the paperclip) out of the clay.
7. Place on a cookie sheet, and let dry until the clay is completely hardened, up to 24 hours (see package directions).
8. Cover each paperclip with a piece of masking tape.
9. Apply either acrylic or spray paint, and let dry. Remove the masking tape.
10. Thread a ribbon through the top of the paperclip to form a necklace, gift tag, card embellishment, or ornament.

Hang a clay heart on someone you love this Valentine's Day. There's no better way to say "be mine."