Making a Simple Heart a Bit Fancy

Hearts have always been one of my favorite things to make...well, hearts and flowers.  I can remember playing in mud when I was a child and making flowers and hearts. I loved playing in mud!  This is a simple little tutorial on how I throw a heart together.

I used Premo! Peacock Pearl right out of the package.  After conditioning the clay, I took about 1/8th?

of the package and chopped it up with my blade.

Pick up all the little pieces and smoosh them together.

This will give your heart a lot of depth and marbling from the mica

that is in the pearl clay.....LOVE IT!

 Roll them into a  smooth ball.

See the blues/turquoise and greens? Yummy!

With the ball of clay between your palms, roll it back and forth putting more pressure

on one side of the ball to make a teardrop shape.

I made this funny little tool to help create the cleft in the heart, I also use

a needle tool on occasion, it just takes a bit more smoothing to get the lobes

just right.

You just press the tool in to the wide part and toggle it back and forth until

you get it opened up to your liking.

 Notice that it isn't perfect, but it is a good start. :)

Smooth out and round the lobes

Until you get them to the shape you are happy with.

Next you need to decide where you want the hole. For this heart, I wanted the hole

straight through the lobes. You could also go straight down through the cleft and out the

point...or any which way you want your heart to hang.  Also,  you can insert a bail for hanging

if you so wish.

To pierce a bead it is best to use a drilling motion starting on one side and piercing part way 

through, turn it over and line up your needle and work the other side in the same way

until it comes out the first hole.  

I enlarged the hole with a bamboo skewer, then left a piece of a skewer in to keep the hole

and to hold as I decorated it.

At this point, smooth your fingertips over the heart like you are gently petting it

to erase the fingerprints.

 Collect some canes and clay to see what you want to use to

decorate your heart.

I chose a pink flower cane and a purple flower cane that were sitting in my

cane box just waiting for their moment in time.

I can't tell you how old these are...probably 5 years old or so.

 I like to do a bit of manipulation to the cane slices.

My "tools" are actually handmade glass ink pens from Italy. :)

Make up some bitsy little leaves from green.

Sweet!

Roll out a thin snake/vine and lay it on the heart then decorate with

cane slices and leaves to your heart's desire. hehe...get it?

Cure it according to the package's direction, put it on a ribbon and wear it proudly.

If you make a heart, I would love to see it!!
Check out my About Page and let me know what you think.

blessings, Zuda Gay