DIY: Puffy heart necklace
Celebrating Ahavah and Neshikot (love and kisses) with little ones
We think it’s important everyday to remind the special people in our lives (family and friends) that we love them. Leaving love notes on a pillow, making a pancake or a sandwich in the shape of a heart, holding hands while taking a walk, and giving little “nosey kisses” are few of our favorite ways to say “I love you” throughout the day to young children. In Hebrew, the word love is Ahavah and kisses is Neshikot (just one kiss is Neshikah)!
For a recent playdate in the park, we thought it would be fun to make a little token of our love for our friends with DIY puffy heart necklaces. We started the necklaces at home, and finished them together at the park by stringing beads onto the yarn.
Puffy heart necklaces are simple to make. We sewed ours closed, but they are just as cute finished with hot glue! Here’s what you will need to make one puffy heart necklace.
2 small pieces of colored felt for the heart.
A long piece of yarn, about 30 inches
2 or 3 cotton balls
Hot glue (or embroidery floss and a needle)
Scissors
Pony beads (plastic beads with a large hole)
Tape
For the face: Black and pink felt
To make your own puffy heart:
Cut 2 pieces of felt into the shape of a heart. Place one heart in front of you (Heart A), and put the other heart off to the side (Heart B).
Take two or three cotton balls, and place them in the middle of Heart A.
Cut a piece of yarn, about 30 inches long. Fold the yarn in half, and lay the middle on the center of Heart A.
Take a hot glue gun (or sew a running stitch) and run it along the edge of Heart A, including over the yarn.
Take Heart B, and place it on top of Heart A. Press the edges of both hearts together. (Note: you can also thread a sewing needle with embroidery floss and use a simple running stitch to sew the two hearts together).
You now have a puffy heart necklace! Use the black and pink felt to make the face. We cut our eyes and smile in the shape of a “U,” and we cut small circles for the cheeks. We used the hot glue to attach them to the puffy heart.
(Note: If you’d like to see the process step-by-step in photos, click here to see how we made a puffy owl necklace!)
Lots of puffy hearts in progress
Now your puffy heart is ready for beads and friends! Since the yarn is very soft on the ends, we like to roll tape around the ends to make it a little sturdier for stringing beads. Pony beads with wide holes and colored straws cut into one inch pieces make good beads for little fingers.
Do you have any favorite heart crafts to make with little friends? Let us know in the comments below, and let us know if you make puffy heart necklaces! Other fun necklaces to make with very small children using circle cereal as beads can be found here, apple and honey o’s and a smiley face matzah!
We wish you a day that is filled with Ahavah (love) and Neshikot (kisses).
~Jennifer
