Salt Dough Fingerprint Keepsake Heart (The Perfect Valentine's Day Craft)

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and this week I was hit by how quickly kids grow up. I have a new one-month-old in the house, and now my almost two years old seems HUGE!

I am left wondering when he grew up. So this Valentine’s Day, I wanted to remember how little both of them are this year. So I decided to make Salt Dough Fingerprint Keepsake Hearts for each of my littles.

They turned out so cute that I might make a couple more for grandparents, and the hearts were so easy to create. My son enjoyed playing with the excess. (He loves Playdoh)

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Fingerprint Keepsake Heart Activity Details:

Age: Any

Difficulty: Easy

Time to complete: 15 minutes to create the dough, 1 hour 30 minutes of bake time depending on the thickness of the craft

If the craft still seems doughy or soft at the end of the bake time, continue baking until it is hard.

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Supplies Needed For This Salt Dough Fingerprint Activity:

½ cup of salt
½ cup of flour
¼ cup of warm water
Ribbon or string
Rolling pin
Cookie sheet or baking dish
Heart-shaped cookie cutter (unless you or your child would prefer to freehand the shape)

Food coloring-optional (you can always paint the craft after instead)

Other optional supplies:

Step 1: Gather Supplies

Your first step is to gather everything on the supply list above.

Step 2: Combined The Ingredients

Combine the salt, flour, warm water, and food coloring (if you are using it). I added six drops of red food coloring to make pink hearts. Put a little flour on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them, and combine until it is playdoh. It will be a bit more grainy feeling than playdoh.

My son enjoyed helping me dump the ingredients together and mixing them. He used the spoon to stir instead of his hands until the dough formed. He loves pretending to cook, and let’s be honest… it saved me a mess this time.

Step 3: Preheat The Oven

Once the salt dough is mixed well preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.

Step 4: Create The Salt Dough Heart

Use a rolling pin to flatten your dough out. I made my salt dough hearts about a half-inch thick. If you make your craft thicker, it will take additional baking time.

Use the cookie cutter or freehand the heart shape. I had enough dough to make three hearts. Next, have your child imprint their thumbs into the center of the dough. I had my kiddos angle their fingerprints to create a little fingerprint heart in the center.

I also used a pencil to indent each child’s name and year onto the front. Older kids can decorate their hearts or make designs/imprints; however, their imagination moves them.

Save any kind of painting until after they bake. Also, don’t forget to place a hole or a couple of holes in the dough for string or ribbon so you can hang them up or attach them to a beautiful flower bouquet.

Step 5: It’s Time To Bake

Place the dough on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for an hour and a half.

Be careful when you use your spatula to remove the hearts.

I found that going slow and gently popped them off the pan without cracking or breaking them.

If your hearts are thinner, you will want to remove them from the oven earlier. Check the back of the craft. If it seems soft or still doughy, place it back in the oven with the backside up and continue baking until solid.

Step 6: Let Them Cool

Let them cool. Then you and the kids can paint, glue, glitter, and decorate them to your heart’s content. Add a string or ribbon. I like filling the finger heart with glue and adding glitter on top to make the little heart really pop!

My son had fun playing with the excess dough, and it was fun to see him pushing his finger imprints into his own dough (like we had just done in the heart craft).

He also liked pretending that he was baking cookies for me and practicing rolling with the rolling pin. My daughter, who is only a month old, only participated in the imprint part, but I am over the moon to have this keepsake of hers.

Older kids can really be creative by adding their own twists, shapes, decorations, painting, glitter, or jewels to their craft.

If you enjoyed this craft, make sure to save it for later and follow us on Pinterest for more fun ideas.

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Salt Dough Fingerprint Keepsake Heart (The Perfect Valentine’s Day Craft)

Fingerprint Keepsake Heart Activity Details: