Heart Magnets
If you are looking for a fun project to do with your child, here is an easy, fun and functional craft you can do. I decided I wanted some cute little hearts for the fridge. Not for any reason and not necessarily as Valentine’s day decoration, just some cute as heck hearts to go around cutesy messages on the fridge (naturally).
I used Crayola’s air dry clay and I molded the hearts so they would be three dimensional instead of flat.
Crayola Purchase Options
Crayola Website [1]
Office Supply [2]
Staples [3]
Walmart [4]
Amazon [5]
Related: Tips to Make Valentine’s Day a Gift to Al [6]l
{step one} Start by forming it into a fat rounded triangle shape.
{step two} Continue pressing, squeezing and rounding until you start to get something resembling a heart. The heart is a tricky shape and it took me a while to get the best shape I could. I found it helped to draw a heart on a piece of scrap paper (about the size that you’re working with) and then push and mold the shape on the drawn heart (using it as a guideline). Also, make sure the back is nice and flat so you have a solid surface to glue your magnet to.
{step three} Once you have your hearts shaped (in various sizes if you like), allow to dry. Since these are a lot thicker than a flat shape would be, I let mine dry for two days before attempting to do anything more with them.
{step four} After they’ve hardened, grab some little magnets (I used magnet tape that I could cut down to size) and a glue gun and simply glue a magnet to the back of each heart.
{step five} Once the glue is dry, you can go ahead and paint them any color you like. I used watercolor paints that I mixed to produce different shades of pink and red. I also found it was a whole lot easier painting them when they were attached to a metal surface. The hearts were a little too small to hold and paint.
{step six} Allow to dry again and apply a coat of Mod Podge to seal them up.
Stick ’em on a magnetic surface and enjoy!
{good to know}
I immediately dropped one after putting it on the fridge (that’s freezer height to wooden floor) and it didn’t break or chip! These guys seem pretty solid!
{modifications}
If the clay proves too challenging to use, a crafter can use pre-cut foam heart-shaped stickers glued together, then add a piece of magnetic tape [7] on the back (see above).
This post contains affiliate links, which means Parenting Special Needs, Inc, receives a commission if you purchase using this link. We appreciate your support.
Images and craft courtesy of Kristin Papathanasis who blogs over at idlewife.blogspot.ca [8]
More Valentine’s Day Ideas
- Nice to Know: What Does Valentine’s Day Bring to Mind for You? Candy? Flowers? [9]
- Tips to Make Valentine’s Day a Gift to All [10]
- Dated Night Ideas for Exhausted Parents [11]
- Date Nights At-Home with the One You Love [12]
- The Vows of Special Needs Parents [13]
- Relationship Rescue: Tips to Regain Intimacy With Your Partner [14]
- Cooking with Kids: Chocolate-Fondue [15]
- 7 Speech Activities for Valentine’s Day Using Conversation Hearts [16]
- Valentine’s Day Craft: Dragonflies or butterflies you decide? [17]
- Can a Single Parent of a Special Needs Child Find Love, too? [18]
- How I Was Able to Find Love Again and my Boyfriend Loves Both my Children [19]
- Relationship Rescue: My Daughter is Talking About Marriage [20]
- “Back-To-School” Can Also Be “Back-To-Romance” for Special Needs Couples [21]
This post originally appeared on our January/February 2016 Magazine [22]