fingers & toes: Thumbprint Heart Necklace

 

A while back on one of my favorite blogs, Hubby Made Me, I saw this footprint necklace that Britni did of her darling little baby girl’s foot.  It is one of my all time favorite posts of hers!  Until I read how she did it I had completely forgotten all about Shrinky Dinks!  Remember that fun plastic from the 80’s that you could color on, and then stick it in the oven, and it would shrink down to a 1/3 of it’s size?  YES – exactly!  How did I forget about Shrinky Dinks?!!  Thank you Britni, for bringing all the memories back, and my excitement to try them again (I didn’t even realize they still made them)!

 

 

So, with Valentine’s day around the corner, I thought hearts!

I first did footprint hearts, and I don’t know what I was thinking, Britni did her “baby’s” foot, & my munchkins are FAR from babies.  So, unless I’m starting a Flavor Flav jewelry comeback, yep, it won’t make it as a necklace with their footprints as a heart – HA!  Well, that’s how you figure things out – right?  You experiment (or wait until you have the most amount of mama brain intact)!  I then proceeded to do it with half a heart of little T’s thumbprint, and half a heart of miss V’s thumbprint – it looked weird.  Third times a charm!  I ended with a heart with just miss V’s thumbprints for now.  And when T is older, say 3yo & less squirmy I will add his to my necklace, so I will have both of their fingerprints at age 3 – a better idea!

So, easy-peasy, here’s how we did it…

 

materials/tools

• clear shrink film
• hole punch
• scissors
• foam paint brush
• black water based acrylic paint
• black sharpie ultra fine point marker
• brush
• Mod Podge gloss finish
• oval jump rings
• needle nose pliers
• parchment paper
• baking tray
• necklace
• {optional} dotted heart border template

(download free printable dotted heart border template here, sized at 4×6, and created with two different sizes)

 

steps

• Print out dotted heart template.
• Place shrink film over the template.
• Start by brushing the paint on your child’s thumb with the foam paint brush.
• Press child’s thumb on shrink film within heart border, two times, forming a heart shape.
• Line up the thumbprint heart, centering it in the heart border.
• Trace the heart border using the marker (optional: add child’s age & name).

 

 

• Cut out heart.  Punch hole in heart for jump ring.
• Place parchment paper on baking tray.
• Bake according to shrink film instructions (I did mine at 300° F. for 4 minutes).
• When heart come out of the oven, place a piece of cardboard over heart to flatten further.
• Heart will shrink to 1/3 it’s size.  Let cool.
• Once cool, brush a thin coat of Mod Podge on with your paintbrush to give the exposed fingerprint a sealant.  Let dry.
• Open jump ring with needle nose pliers & attach through hole to necklace.

 

 

The other charm on my necklace my sis gave to me for Christmas, it says “a minute”…perfect mama saying right?  As in, just give me “a minute”, in “a minute”, I just need “a minute”, I’ll be there in just “a minute” – hehe – you get the point!  {LOVE} it – now I always have an extra minute :)  The jewelry designer who made it is a friend of hers, it is a custom piece by individual icons.

 

xx ♥ m