Salt Dough Heart Pendants

Materials:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1-4 tablespoons water
• a bowl for mixing
• measuring utensils
• cookie sheet with non-stick foil
• crafting wire
• a large jump ring
• acrylic craft paint
• polyurethane
• two paint brushes
• wire cutters
• two pairs of pliers
• a chain or ribbon

Instructions:

1. To make your salt dough, combine the flour, salt, and water in a mixing bowl. Add a little water at a time until the dough becomes one mass of dough. It might be slightly sticky at first, so don’t sweat it.
    
2. To make a heart out of salt dough, you can either roll a small piece of dough into a log, bring the two ends together, and pinch the bottom, or you could roll out the dough and cut out heart shapes using a piece of wire (I used a paper clip). Next, slide a 1 to 1-1/2-inch piece of wire that is bent in half into the top of the heart. You can either have it centered in the heart, or have the loop on one side so the heart will fall to its side. Bake your heart pendants at 200 degrees F for about two hours, depending on your oven. Mine took two hours to bake, but yours will probably be different. Just keep checking on them every once in a while. You can tell they are done when they are basically hard as a rock. Give them a squeeze, and if they do not yield, then they are done.
    
3. Set up your painting surface by laying out newspaper. Paint your heart pendants one side at a time. You may need to apply two coats. Let them dry completely before sealing them. Apply one coat of polyurethane, one side at a time. Let dry.
    
4. Now you are ready to attach your pendant to a necklace! I am using a ribbon necklace that I made. Just open a jump ring, attach the pendant to the necklace, and close the jump ring.