FREE Printable "Jesus Loves You" Valentine and DIY Necklace

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love. With our children, we have always used the holiday to focus on reminding them of the amazing unconditional love that God has for us.

This year, I have a fun project you can do with your daughters that is a super cute reminder of God’s love and doubles as a handmade gift for their friends! And as an added bonus, I whipped up a FREE printable Valentine to use with it.

You can also use this free Valentine printable card and place candy in the open area instead of the necklace and give it out to your child’s friends, classmates, neighbors, family, and more! Click here to get your free download (PDF) printable.

Want to create some of these fun DIY Valentine necklaces? Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials

• Wax paper (to protect your crafting surface)
• Scissors
• Oven Bake Clay (we used Sculpey brand)
• Toothpicks
• Small cookie cutters
• Hemp twine or another thin cording
• Small craft paintbrush
• Brown craft paint
• Paper towels
• Rubber stamps (optional)
• Drinking straw

Instructions

First, pinch off a small piece of clay. Be sure to work it around in your hands good, rolling and kneading it, so it becomes soft and pliable.

Next, press it flat to about 1/4 inch thick. I tried to use a rolling pin covered in wax paper to get a pristine flattened piece, but we actually found that it looked better when we just used our hands. Plus, the fingerprints add character to your creation!

After your clay piece is flat, you can create your design. We opted to do a cross design on many of them using a toothpick, but you could use a variety of rubber stamps to create designs. It is better to create the designs before you cut the clay into a shape. That gives the piece a cleaner edge, as well as allows you to adjust the placement of the design on the shape.

When using a toothpick, just make a series of dots in the shape you want, then connect the dots gently. You can also use this process to write words on the clay. It creates a cleaner edge to your design. Otherwise the clay gets pushed around and looks messy.

Once your design is done, cut the shape you want using a small cookie cutter. If you don’t have any small cookie cutters, you can shape the clay with your hand.

Before you bake your clay, be sure to add the hole that the cording will go through. You can do this with a toothpick or a drinking straw. We found the drinking straw worked easier for us.

Now they are ready to bake! We had fun making several with different designs, and in a few different colors and shapes. Be sure to follow the package instructions for baking your clay, and let them cool completely before doing the next step.

WARNING: These are so easy and fun to make, you may end up making dozens! Not that I would know. 😉

Once your clay medallions have cooled, use a small paintbrush to paint the brown craft paint onto your design. Wipe away the paint with a damp paper towel after just a few seconds. The longer you leave the paint on your clay, the darker the stain will be. It makes take a few tries to figure out just how long to leave it on.

This step is optional, but it really makes the design “pop” especially on the lighter colored clay. You can see in the picture below what a difference it makes.

All that’s left is adding the hemp twine! Just loop it through the hole like the picture below. I used hemp twine because it is inexpensive, and you can make tons of necklaces with one roll. You can use any thin cording for these necklaces, and can even purchase jewelry chain and jump rings if you’d like a more professional look.

That’s all it takes. Aren’t they precious?! Such a cute Valentine necklace!

Download the FREE Valentine printable

If you want to gift the necklaces to your daughter’s friends, or even your daughters, download this free Valentine printable to use along with them. Just print the cards on cardstock (four cards per sheet), and cut two small slits, one on each side of the top of the card, to place the necklace cording through. Position the medallion part of the necklace so that it lays in the red shape on the front.

Flip the card over, and curl up the remaining cording into a circle. Place a piece of Valentine-themed washi tape over it to hold in place.

These cute DIY Valentine necklaces are so easy, and perfect for daughters everywhere!

Looking for more ways to spend some quality time with your daughter(s) this Valentine’s Day? Be sure to check out I Am Loved by Sheila Walsh. This adorable book is just for girls, and all about God’s love for them.

Your Turn

What special activities do you do with your daughter for Valentine’s Day? How do you remind her of God’s amazing love?