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 
[1]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 [2]
Office Supply [3]
Staples [4]
Walmart [5]
Amazon [6]
[7]
Related: Tips to Make Valentine’s Day a Gift to Al [8]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.
[9]
{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.
[10]
Stick ’em on a magnetic surface and enjoy!
[11]
{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 [12] on the back (see above).
[13]
[14]
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 [15]
More Valentine’s Day Ideas
- Nice to Know: What Does Valentine’s Day Bring to Mind for You? Candy? Flowers? [16]
- Tips to Make Valentine’s Day a Gift to All [17]
- Dated Night Ideas for Exhausted Parents [18]
- Date Nights At-Home with the One You Love [19]
- The Vows of Special Needs Parents [20]
- Relationship Rescue: Tips to Regain Intimacy With Your Partner [21]
- Cooking with Kids: Chocolate-Fondue [22]
- 7 Speech Activities for Valentine’s Day Using Conversation Hearts [23]
- Valentine’s Day Craft: Dragonflies or butterflies you decide? [24]
- Can a Single Parent of a Special Needs Child Find Love, too? [25]
- How I Was Able to Find Love Again and my Boyfriend Loves Both my Children [26]
- Relationship Rescue: My Daughter is Talking About Marriage [27]
- “Back-To-School” Can Also Be “Back-To-Romance” for Special Needs Couples [28]
This post originally appeared on our January/February 2016 Magazine [29]