Did you know that this week is Random Acts of Kindness Week? Yup, it is. So, for sculpey enrichment class this week I tried to do something inspiring with the kids that was open ended and fun for everyone. Making little sculpey hearts and handing them out to friends was the perfect thing.
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Materials
sculpey
My secret weapon craft machine
heart stamper
My favorite saying in sculpey class is “A little goes a long way.” It’s a mantra I have the kids repeat so they don’t try to use too much sculpey in one class period. That stuff is expensive! So, for sculpey class this week, we took all of our left over sculpey, put it through my no fail secret weapon that all kids love, the craft machine
(sort of like a pasta maker) and used a heart stamper
to make tons and tons of beautiful little marbled hearts. I quickly baked them so the kids could hand them out to their friends and family or secretly hide them in random places for a great surprise. I was so touched over how excited the kid’s became over this idea. They made tons and tons of hearts. One third grader, after making every member of his class a heart, said “I’m so glad we’re doing this.” He got a heart from me for that comment.
This is such a nice project. I’ve been slipping hearts into pockets, onto keyboards, and in purses all day. I love the idea of an unexpected little gift, something small and pretty. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. What’s something small you can do for someone else to spread the love this week? No sculpey necessary. A little note with kind words would be perfect. Or how about putting quarters in random meters. Or picking a bouquet of flowers (it’s so warm in LA right now!) and handing them out at work or your local super market. It’s amazing how once I started a few random acts of kindness, it felt so good I didn’t want to stop. I’ve got to make some more hearts!
Happy Kindness Week everyone. May it be filled with small surprises that fill your heart and remember, a little goes a long way.
beautiful sentiment and such a clever reuse…i love this so much!!!
Thanks Bar! I saw that you pinned it and that was my FAV board that you pinned it too. The one I mentioned the other day that I loved so much. Now I know it’s called Handmade Ideas. So, feelin good! Thank you!
I love this. Thanks.
Thank you so much. Your photos are gorgeous!
What a lovely idea! I wish I had had one to give to the guy who yelled at me yesterday for parking on the street in front of his house!
Ha. I’m not sure a heart would have done it but that would have been pretty awesome if you tried!
I’m not familiar with sculpty but your hearts are beautiful! Love this idea and how you are inspiring kids to also share random acts of kindness!!!
Thank you Beth! This was such a nice activity. Whenever I see the pics I get a good feeling. Thanks for stopping by!
These are so cute! How did you get those colours??
Thanks Bethany. It’s mixed up sculpey that was put through a craft machine, so the colors get marbled. They come out really beautiful!
How long did you bake them for this thickness?
Hi Jan. About 18 minutes. Have fun!
İnspired by this pst. How refreshing and something new. It could be made of any material too. Great also for all ages, both sexes. Perfect idea, thank you :)))))
I’m so glad. Thank you so much! And yes, any material. It’s the act of giving that counts. Enjoy!
I love this! Do you know about how many of the 1 1/2″ hearts you got out of one package of sculpey? Trying to figure out how much I need. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer. Sorry for the late reply. My comments area was broken. You can get A LOT out of one multipack. Maybe 100? That’s a guess depending on how thin you make the sculpey. Let me know how it goes! Thanks so much.
I have never used sculpey before. I am an Occupational Therapy Assistant and I would love to do this with my clients. Do you have the specific instructions anywhere?
Thanks!
Hi Emily, I really recommend doing this. It’s an awesome feel good project. Sculpey is best for kids 4 and up just fyi. As far as instructions, it’s really simple. You just knead the sculpey (that means mush it together until it gets soft) roll it out either with a craft machine like the one I link to in the post or with a rolling pin and use a heart cookie cutter to carve out the hearts. Then you bake it per the instructions on the box. I will work on a visual tutorial but in the meantime I hope that’s helpful!!! Feel free to ask me any questions. To get the marbled effect you just mush a few different colors together before rolling them out.
This is a great idea! You know, when I first saw them on your blog newsletter, I thought they were pieces of paper (maybe kids art pieces) that had been cut up using a heart shaped punch. So I guess what I’m saying is, if people didn’t have Sculpey to use, they could just use old paintings that they don’t want to just throw away (or even create some painted paper especially for the purpose of the exercise) and cut them up in the shape of hearts? They are so CUTE!!! A very cute idea too.
Absolutely! That’s a great great idea! Thanks!
I’m going to try it!!!
What a fun idea! You know, I just found a stash of Sculpey dough downstairs from when I was younger… I almost pitched it, but now I think I know what we will do with it!
What a sweet and endearing idea. We will have to try making these for our next family home evening activity. And it is the perfect way to use up the mixed up clay! Thanks for sharing,.
great idea! How big does the cookie cutter need to be? and how much does the clay shrink?
thank you
thinking about doing this for valentine’s day for the kids school
Hi Muriel, Thank you! The cookie cutter can be any size you want. Ours was about 1 inch or so. The clay doesn’t shrink at all. It will look exactly the same when you bake it only hard. Hope you enjoy it!
I just finished a batch of these with my 4.5 year old for valentine’s gifts for her classmates. A fun and easy project with strikingly beautiful results. Thanks for sharing this project! I am now obsessed with the clay machine. Excited to see how I can use this new tool for other creations.
These hearts are so heart warming 💖
Thank you Nona!!
This is such a sweet arts craft project to go with what I love: random acts of kindness!! ❤️
Is that polymer clay? Here in Austria, Europe there’s the brand Fimo; wondering if that’s equivalent to what you use?
AND I’m looking at my pasta machine in a whole new way!! Do you think it would work?! 😉
Fimo should be just fine. Just another Polymer clay. And as for your spaghetti maker, you just can’t use it again for food once you go to clay because the clay is toxic if ingested. So use your discretion. Have fun!