How to Make Clay Sweethearts for a Valentine

Clay sweethearts are a fun and easy Valentine's Day craft.

Skill Level for Making Clay Sweethearts or Valentine's Day

Making clay sweethearts involves very basic skills similar to those used to make any Play-Doh creation. The level of painting skill required is also very minimal. Young children as well as older children, teens, and adults can all make this Valentine's Day Craft.

The more skilled a person is at each part of the crafting, the more sophisticated the final Valentine's Day Craft will be. Fortunately, this is a relatively simple clay project that is charming when complete, no matter what level of skill went into its crafting.

Materials:

newspaper
Self-hardening clay OR make your own (4 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of salt and 1 1/2 cups of water)
a rolling pin OR a jar filled with water and sealed
a wooden clay knife OR a plastic knife
stock paper or cardboard OR a pre-cut heart about the size of the maker's palm
tempera or acrylic paints: be sure to have ample white, red, blue, green and yellow paints or purchase pre-made pastel colored paints
a paint brush
paperplates or other container to mix paints

Constructing a Clay Sweetheart for for Valentine's Day

First, line the table or work surface with newspaper or other scrap paper. Take a baseball-sized clump of clay and soften it in your hands. The clay becomes soft and malleable as it is worked back and forth between the hands, and squeezed between the fingers.

Once the clay is soft, make a ball with the clay and place it on the covered work surface. With the rolling pin, roll the clay out evenly, flattening it as you go. Let the clay remain at about 1/4 inch thickness or more.

Next, take one the stock paper and cut out a heart that will be use to cut out the clay. Or use a pre-cut heart. Place the paper heart on the clay, and "cut" around the edges of the heart with the plastic knife, removing any excess clay from the Valentine's Day clay sweetheart.

When the excess is removed, smooth the edges, leaving and edge on the heart, so it looks three-dimensional.

Let the Valentine's Day clay sweetheart dry according to the directions on the self-hardening clay box.

Painting the Clay Sweetheart for for Valentine's Day

When the Valentine's Day clay sweetheart is dry, it's time to paint and decorate your Valentine's Day Craft.

Because the Valentine's Day clay sweetheart is meant to resemble the pretty candy sweethearts that come in a box, the paint colors to use will be pastel. If you did not purchase pastel tempera or acrylic paints, you will have to mix your own.

Adding white to any of the paint colors, blue, red, green or yellow, will give you a pretty pastel color. Experiment on the shade you want by adding the white little by little, until the paint resembles the pastel color you want on your Valentine's Day clay sweetheart.

To make a pastel purple heart, first add equal parts red and blue to make purple, then add the white to lighten the purplish shade.

Decorating the Clay Sweetheart for for Valentine's Day

When the painted Valentine's Day clay sweetheart is dry, it's time to decorate the Valentine's Day Craft. Write a short word on the heart with a paint brush. Some ideas are: hug, love, kiss, or xoxo.

The Clay Sweetheart for for Valentine's Day can also be decorated with many different craft items, including sequins, charms, collage materials, tiny mirrors, sea shells, and anything else you can glue to the heart to personalize this Valentine's Day Craft.