American Clay Hearts

Create these lovely red, white and blue clay hearts for jewelry or home accents on the 4th of July. Step-by-step instructions from clay expert Marie Segal make this clay craft project clear and simple. You might recognize the hearts from Marie's Valentine's Day project.

Materials:

• Cernit Clay
• Opaque White- 029
• Christmas Red- 036
• Blue- 017
• Gold- 122
• Makin’s Clay Heart set- 35011
• Needle tool- RNT or ABUG
• 5/16” star cutter
• Clay Blade- AKTBLA
• Clay Machine- 35054
• Eye hooks
• 10 mm posts and backs
• Cyanoacrylate glue

Instructions:

1. Condition and roll out on the thickest setting in the clay machine a 1” ball of opaque white clay. Condition and roll out on the thickest setting in the clay machine a 1” ball of red clay. Cut the white clay so you have a strip that is 1” x 2” long. Cut a strip of red the same size as the white. Lay the red clay on top of the white clay so the edges line up.
   
   
    
2. Cut 4- 1/8” slices of the stacked colors; stack one on top of the other. Or... you can cut 1/8”slice and drag the blade towards yourself to attach the slice to the blade and place the slice and the blade a top the stack to measure and cut the next slice.
   
   
   
   Keep cutting and bringing towards yourself to stick the slices to the blade until you have 4 sets.
   
   
    
3.  Make two of those 4 slice stacks, turn one around horizontally 180 degrees and stack one on top of the other.
   
   
    
4.  Cut the stack in half.
   
   
    
5. Rotate one of the slabs horizontally 180 degrees and stack on top of the other. Line up the lines so everything matches and then compact the cane to attach all of the slices. One at a time press on the lined side and then rotate stack ¼ turn and press that lined side, keep rotating and pressing all 4 lined sides to compact all of the squares together. Do not press to change the size, just to compact.
   
   
    
6.  Slice off a 1/8” slice of the checkerboard cane and roll through the clay machine on the thickest setting. Rotate the slice ¼ turn and turn down the setting on the clay machine to the 2nd thickest setting and roll the slice through again. Roll the slice through the clay machine on the 3rd thickest setting the same direction as the step above with out rotating the slice.
   
   
    
7.  Condition and roll out blue clay in the clay machine on the thickest setting.
    
8. Cut out 2 hearts using the medium cutter from the heart set.
    
9. Cut out 2 of the small hearts out of the checkerboard pattern and place on top of the blue cut out hearts. Press these gently in to place with out smashing.
   
   
    
10. Follow steps 4 and 5 in the valentine sweethearts instructions to add the marks and make the dots around the outside of the Blue heart.
     
11. Condition and roll out some gold clay on the 5th thickest setting in the clay machine and cut out a gold star with the 5/16” cutter and place it in the middle of the small heart at the top. Press gently in to place and do the same steps to the other blue heart. Refer to finished hearts on at the top of the page for placement.
     
12. Bake according to steps 9 and 10 in valentine sweethearts.
     
13. Glue on earring backs and let dry completely.

I bet you can come up with other things to do with that left over checkerboard too!