sprout

Instructions

1. Mix water and food color to create a color that is a little darker than you want the play clay.
2. Add salt, flour and vegetable oil and mix well with hands.
3. Use a rolling pin to rollout to about ¼ inch thickness on wax paper or parchment, cut out hearts with cookie cutter, peeling away the dough around each heart. If you work on parchment, the hearts will be easiest to transfer to a baking sheet if you plan to oven-dry your clay. This recipe will make about 15 three-inch hearts.
4. Use the end of a sharpened crayon to make a hole at the top of each heart, about ½ inch from the edge.
5. Allow to air-dry overnight, or bake at 150 degrees for 2-3 hours and leave out to cool until firm.
6. Add paper leaves, glitter, lace, bows or any other craft items that you have at home to embellish your Valentine's art! A little school glue can be mixed with a few drops of water and brushed on like paint to make a slightly shiny glaze if desired! Cool and dry completely before lacing.
7. Lace the hearts onto a ribbon or yarn, tying a knot at the top of each heart to keep it from sliding. You can even make a garland out of the actual cookie cutters themselves if you have enough of them!
8. Hang over a doorway, or get really expressive and expand the garland across an entire room! Either way, you'll be creating a delightful decoration to help celebrate a very special day!