Valentine’s Day: Fun with Clay

An simple introduction to explore the fun of brightly coloured polymer clay.

Materials

• Polymer Clay (Fimo, Sculpey or similar brands)
• Heart shaped cookie cutter or old butter knife
• Rolling pin
• Thin piece of dowel or bamboo skewer
• Glitter
• Craft tray
• Clay board
• Smock
• Glitter

Cooking

• Baking sheet
• Tin foil

Finishing

• Exterior grade sealant
• Paint brush
• Permanent marker

Key Rings

• Key rings (you can buy these at craft, dollar or hardware stores)
• Binder rings
• Beads

Directions

• Follow the directions on the clay product that you choose.  This is an activity that may require adult assistance in the kneading to prepare the clay.

• Roll out the clay to the thickness described in the product cooking directions on a clay board or surface used for craft materials (e.g., craft tray).  You may decide to mix colours, as our daughter did.

• We added a bit of glitter.

• Cut out your hearts with a cookie cutter or better yet, make your own heart with a butter knife.

• Make a hole  (or holes) with the end of your dowel or skewer.

• Put your hearts spaced out on a piece of tin foil on your cookie sheet and bake according to the product directions. (As described on the product instructions, this portion of the activity should be done by an adult.)

• Allow to cool.

• We then painted our hearts with a thin layer of sealant on one side, allowed it to dry overnight and then painted the other side and allowed it to dry overnight.

• You can write a small message or the child’s name on the back in permanent marker, should you like.

• Create a key chain, necklace or small garland with your hearts. (We used binder clips to loop the hearts and the beads onto the key chain so it would be kid-friendly.)  Ours were quite stiff and would be difficult to re-open, but if yours are not, consider gluing them closed.)

Purpose

• Developing fine motor skills, working with various materials and tools.

Safety Notes

• Wear a smock and use a craft tray as some of these types of materials may cause staining.
• An oven should be used by an adult and assure that the hearts have completely cooled before handling.
• A butter knife should be handled with care, direct adult supervision and transported with the point downwards.
• Cord, lace etc. can be a strangulation hazard and therefore should not be used for play, but rather with direct adult supervision.  Remove your necklace when on a playground or use a release clasp depending on the age of your child.)
• Beads, rings etc. can be a choking hazard and should not be within reach of children ages 0-3 or those that tend to put things in their mouths.
• Be sure to wash your hands after handling the clay (the product we used was listed as non-toxic) and glitter as well.
• We recommend having an adult cut the point off of the end of a bamboo skewer prior to use as they can be sharp and work more effectively in creating a uniform hole when flat.
• We suggest using tin foil on your cookie tray to avoid product contact with a surface that you use for food (or use an inexpensive tray solely for this type of activity.)