Heart Shaped Footprint Suncatchers

Suncatchers make our home so happy! My kids “ooo” and “ahh” when the sun shines though their creations. We are hooked on making our Salt Dough Suncatchers. Our newest creation for Valentine’s Day combines the traditional heart shape with the cuteness of a child’s feet. I love our Heart Shaped Footprint Suncatchers!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HEART SHAPED FOOTPRINT SUNCATCHERS

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makes three suncatchers
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Transparent Pony Beads

parchment paper
cookie tray
wire or twine
glue gun (optional)

TIME TO CREATE THE HEART SHAPED FOOTPRINT SUNCATCHERS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Begin by mixing together the flour, salt and water to make the salt dough. Divide the dough into three balls. Roll out one ball so that it is about 1/2 inch thick. Position your child’s feet on the dough. Tip: Position one foot at a time using your hand to press on the toes and heel to insure that you get a good footprint. Make sure you leave a space between the two feet.

Using a knife cut a heart shape around the footprints and cut out the footprints. Using a spatula carefully transfer to a cookie tray covered in parchment paper. At this point you can make a small hole in the heart so that you will be able to string it later or you can omit this step and use a glue gun to attach string to the back of the heart after it bakes.

ADD PONY BEADS TO MAKE THE HEART SHAPED FOOTPRINT SUNCATCHERS

Set up a table with the salt dough heart and transparent pony beads. Have your children fill the middle of the footprints with the transparent pony beads.

Try to make sure that there are no spaces left between the pony beads.

TIME TO MELT THE BEADS TO MAKE THE HEART SHAPED FOOTPRINT SUNCATCHERS!

Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 1.5-2 hours or until the beads are melted together. Remember oven temperatures can vary it may take a longer or shorter amount of time. The salt dough will turn a light to dark brown color. You may smell a slight melting plastic smell. Let cool completely.

We painted the salt dough bright red. Using a glue gun we attached a piece of twine to the back of the heart. Our Heart Shaped Footprint Suncatchers are the perfect addition to our Valentine’s Day decor!