Friends, I have the perfect, heartfelt, handmade gift idea for you today! Handmade Heart Thumbprint Necklaces! Or Keychains, thumbprint jewelry options are endless, however, the gift is priceless! Crafted with polymer clay and your favorite fingerprint!
This charm can be created to wear as jewelry or it can be created and made into a key chain or simply a heart charm to keep near as memorial jewelry! I chose to create a thumbprint heart necklace.
Pin Heart Thumbprint Charm Necklace Here
Click the button above to save to your board for later!
Update: Check out this post if you are in need of a charm for three fingerprints!
Mother’s necklaces are super popular and beautiful with precious stones in sterling silver or white gold and those are amazing but even more precious are the little fingerprints that adorn these custom-design fingerprint charms!
These handmade pieces are fun and unique and perfect for all the special people in your life. They are perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Birthdays, and more! I can speak from experience that this is a great gift for a mom or grandma! This is also a great idea for new parents!
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Let’s get started! For your convenience, linked below is my materials list. The only thing I can’t link for you is the actual child’s fingerprint you will use :)
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Supplies Needed For the Heart Thumbprint Necklaces:
- Oven Bake Clay
- Small rolling pin (I used my kids’ play dough one!)
- Heart Cookie Cutter
- Bobby Pin
- Martha Stewart Paints
- Martha Stewart Paint Brushes
- Necklace Chains or necklace twine
- Jump rings
- Cute kids who have cute thumbs :)
Grab all the supplies you need right here in one place on my Amazon storefront!
How to Make Heart Thumbprint Charm Necklace
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Take a chunk of oven baked clay and turn it into a personalized piece of jewelry using a few supplies and children’s fingerprints! Below are the instructions to make a heart thumbprint necklace.
- Roll Polymer Clay
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Begin by cutting a chunk off the oven-bake clay off the block and roll it flat on the baking sheet. I used my boys’ play dough roller! It worked perfectly! You want the clay to be about 1/4″ thick.
- Add Fingerprints
Next, I had each of the little ones come and press their thumbs into the clay in a V shape. You can use fingerprints or thumbprints. Be sure they wash their hands afterward.
- Cut Heart Charm
Using a small heart cookie cutter, center the cutter over the thumbprints and cut the polymer lay into a heart shape.
- Remove Excess Clay
To maintain the heart shape as best you can, remove the excess clay around the cookie-cutter first and then gently remove the cookie cutter as well. You will be left with a perfect heart with fingerprints!
- Create a hole for jewelry findings.
If you are creating a charm to use for a necklace, bracelet or keychain, use a bobby pin or other small nail/pin to create a hole in the clay near the top of the pendant. A jump ring will be added to attach to the jewelry.
- Bake
Bake according to the package directions. My clay said to bake at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes per 1/4 inch. I baked for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the charms from the oven and allow them to cool.
- Paint (optional)
If you’d like to, you can paint the charm using acrylic paint. I made some metallic ones using the Martha Stewart Metallics line! Allow to dry.
- Add Jump Ring
When cooled or paint dried, use needle nose pliers to attach a jump ring through the hole on the heart charm. Check out this post to see the correct way to attach a jump ring.
- Attach to Jewelry Piece
After you add the jump ring you may either thread a necklace through or attach to a charm bracelet or keychain.
More Handprint and Footprint Projects!
Fingerprint Jewelry Gift Boxes
You can also create some adorable gift boxes for your newly made fingerprint pendants.
To take it to another notch, I had this cute idea to use some silk screen stencils and more of the paint to decorate some pillow boxes to put the necklaces in for gifts!
Use the Sponge applicators and dab the paint on the silkscreen and wipe across to remove the excess.
The great thing about the silkscreens is that they have a tiny mesh in the open areas that keep the paint right where you need it. Ever try to fill an open stencil and you brush on your paint and you are left with a stencil with a giant glob of paint stroked uneven paint inside? Yea me too! These silkscreens keep the open areas full of paint!
This fingerprint necklace is perfect for anyone you may have a special relationship with! It is a unique gift that can never be duplicated because it’s made from your fingerprints!
More Popular Keepsake Projects:
PIN HEART THUMBPRINT CHARM NECKLACE
Comments & Reviews
Jill says
I linked to this post in my blog today. I posted a recipe for Dark Chocolate Espresso Muffins and DIY gift ideas for Mother’s Day. Thanks so much for this free printable!
Jill says
Sorry, I meant cute craft idea!
Carissa says
Back to let you know I featured your project today in a last minute mother’s day gift round up on Creative Green Living.
Thanks!
Emily says
Love them!! SO pretty and sweet :)
I’ve featured on my blog today!
http://www.52mantels.com/2013/05/handmade-mothers-day-gift-ideas.html
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks Emily!!! xoxo
Danielle says
Is the back side smooth? I tried doing something like this at Christmas-time and the back side looked terrible! I didn’t do it on wax paper though…so would that solve my problem? Or do you have a little trick? :-) Thanks!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Yes Danielle the back is totally smooth! I actually wrote their ages on the back and the year! I just pressed their thumbs in gently and used some parchment paper. You can bake the parchment paper so there was little handling of the charms so that night have helped also!!
kim says
I love this craft and want to try it, but I can’t find a good small heart cookie cutter. Where did you get yours?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Kim, I got mine in a set of about 8 for a few dollars at Wal-Mart.
Vanessa says
These little necklaces are so sweet! Your decorated boxes are the perfect touch :)
http://cafecraftea.blogspot.com/
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks so much Vanessa! They are still one of my favorite projects!!
Jody says
I think this is a wonderful idea. In fact we plan to do this with our Vacation Bible School kiddos. Do you know a ball park range of how many hearts you could get out of your pkg of clay? Any other helpful tips?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks Jody! Oh my…my memory is not the greatest right now (pregnancy brain) but I only used a small, small chunk of the clay for these three. I would think you’d at least be able to get 15-20 out of a package of clay depending on how large your hearts are and how thick you roll the clay. So sorry I can’t help better! I made them last year!
Jody says
Thank you! That helps! Thanks for sharing
Stacy says
I bought a one pound package of sculpey and was able to make one with all 24 of my first graders with plenty of clay to spare! I think I only used about half of the package. :)
Diane says
I have something similar pinned on pinterest. If my son is ever deployed I want his finger print and mine and I will wear it all the time he is gone. Like the metallic colors she has out.