A homemade fingerprint or thumbprint heart necklace is a unique handmade craft and gift idea that kids (or adults) can make for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, or a wedding anniversary.
Use this easy fingerprint jewelry-making tutorial to make multi-colored thumbprint heart necklaces and personalized DIY fingerprint pendants or charms. Friends and family will treasure these sweet homemade keepsake crafts and gifts kids or adults can make, which can be hung on a hand-beaded necklace or worn on a gorgeous chain. Fingerprint art necklaces are another quick and easy keepsake craft idea for someone special. Your mom, grandma, or sweetheart will love it!
Thumbprint pendants and charms are gorgeous one-of-a-kind gifts for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, Christmas, a wedding anniversary, a birthday, or just to say “I love you” any time of year. You might also enjoy making these other creative thumbprint heart magnet crafts. (First published May 3, 2018; this DIY heart necklace charm post is regularly updated and republished to improve the content.)
Thumbprint heart charms are also fun keepsake crafts for kids to make at summer camp and bring home for their parents. Scroll down to read the step-by-step instructions and watch the DIY thumbprint heart necklace video tutorial that makes creating DIY necklaces with colorful fingerprint hearts easy. Or use the same pendants to make thumbprint heart keychain charms! Click the link for the craft tutorial.
Benefits of Making Personalized Thumbprint Heart Necklace DIY Pendants and Charms and Their Many Uses
Personalized thumbprint heart necklaces, pendants, and charms offer a unique and sentimental way to preserve children’s fingerprints. This makes them cherished keepsakes for the children and adults in their lives. You might also enjoy this list of thumbprint heart crafts with several other DIY projects you can make with your fingers and thumbs.
These heart charms, crafted from an individual’s thumbprint, symbolize love and connection. String them onto a necklace to create a thumbprint heart necklace with the step-by-step heart necklace jewelry tutorial below, or put them on keychains to make personalized pendants and charms for keys and backpacks.
For children, they can serve as comforting tokens of parental affection, especially during significant life transitions, such as starting school or spending the night away from home. This makes them a great gift idea for Moms, Dads, Grandparents, or a favorite teacher. They also make a treasured gift idea for siblings, cousins, and best friends.
For adults, these special treasures marked with a heart represent bonds with loved ones. Serving as poignant reminders of their children, partners, spouses, or other cherished relatives and family members such as a great aunt or valued family friend.
These thumbprint heart necklace DIY personalized pieces can also be used to commemorate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, or milestones like graduation. They can also act as meaningful memorials for lost loved ones, offering a tangible connection to those who have passed away. I cherish the thumbprint heart pendant I carry of my father’s thumbprint.
Related: Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
Beyond their emotional significance, these thumbprint heart accessories add a unique and personal touch to any outfit, blending sentimentality with style. Whether worn daily or on special occasions, they provide a way to keep loved ones close at all times. You might also enjoy this list with several other gorgeous keepsake crafts and gifts kids can make.
How to Make a Fingerprint or Thumbprint Necklace Craft
Use this easy fingerprint heart necklace jewelry-making tutorial to make one-of-a-kind fingerprint necklace pendants your family will treasure. A thumbprint heart pendant or charm is an excellent keepsake craft and gift idea for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas!
Before starting this fingerprint craft, read through the step-by-step thumbprint heart pendant instructions to make it easier to choose the type of necklace pendants or charms you want to use to make thumbprint heart charm crafts. Use the DIY jewelry-making craft materials and necklaces recommended below. Or, learn how to bead a necklace by hand. Then, gather the fingerprint or thumbprint heart jewelry-making supplies you need.
Finally, invite the whole family or classroom to the table to make homemade thumbprint heart necklaces with the step-by-step how-to directions and thumbprint heart video tutorial below the jewelry craft supply list. You might also enjoy making fingerprint art necklaces with other fun fingerprint shapes and designs.
Both kids and adults can make and decorate these simple crafts, in addition to the thumbprint heart necklaces suggested, at the same time. This makes crafting multiple gifts for different people easy. Or make keychains with the same pendants and charms you use to make necklaces. Click the links for the DIY details. Another fun idea is to make a Handprint Jewelry Dish to hold your heart necklaces, rings, and other jewelry.
Related: Fingerprint Flower Necklaces and Keychains
DIY Thumbprint Heart Necklace Jewelry Making Supplies:
Before making thumbprint heart necklaces, choose the photo pendant charm shapes and pre-made chains you want to use from the recommended jewelry-making supplies and thumbprint heart craft materials below. Or, make DIY thumbprint heart keychain pendants and charms with the same craft supplies!
- Heavy cardstock – bright white is best)
- Fingerprint ink pads
- Scissors
- Choose at least one of the following:
- Mod Podge (or another white PVA glue that dries clear)
- Diamond Glaze Adhesive
- B6000 Jewelry Glue (recommended)
- Pendant trays with glass cabochon jewelry-making craft supplies (choose at least one of the following options):
- Pre-made necklaces for pendants (choose at least one of the options from the list below or hand bead a necklace and put a DIY heart charm on it.):
- Sterling silver snake chain necklace (fit all pendant shapes)
- Silver-plated snake chain necklaces (fit all pendant shapes)
- Imitation leather cord necklaces (fit all pendant shapes)
- Multi-colored satin silk necklaces (fit through the oval pendants but not the square pendants)
Related: Gorgeous Handmade Gifts Even Kids Can Make!
Fingerprint Heart Necklace DIY Step-By-Step Jewelry Making Tutorial
Learn how to make colorful keepsake necklace crafts with the step-by-step thumbprint heart necklace DIY jewelry-making instructions below. You might also enjoy making a Mother-Daughter Necklace Set. (Or use the step-by-step instructions to make a necklace set for you and your BFF or that special someone.)
1. Make a thumbprint heart.
Create fingerprints or thumbprints to make a heart for a necklace pendant. Use the easy directions below to make fingerprint or thumbprint hearts for each pendant or charm.
How to make a thumbprint heart:
- Press a finger or thumb into a finger ink pad.
- Gently press the finger or thumb with ink onto the paper.
- Press a finger or thumb into the ink pad to reapply more ink.
- Tilt your finger or thumb slightly and press down again to make a fingerprint or thumbprint heart.
- Allow fingerprint ink to dry before moving on to the next step. (If the thumbprint art is not dry, it can smear in the next step.)
2. Glue the fingerprint heart art to the glass cabochon.
- Place a drop of Mod Podge (or another clear-drying white PVA glue), diamond glaze adhesive, or B6000 jewelry glue on the back of the glass cabochon (flat side).
- After making these pendants several times using different glues and adhesives, today we most recommend B6000 jewelry glue. However, each of the other glues and adhesives work. Our next favorite is the Diamond Glaze Adhesive.
- Be mindful not to use too much glue or glaze adhesive because it can smear the thumbprint artwork. A little goes a long way.
- Place the cabochon on top of the fingerprint heart (glue side down).
- Allow it to dry overnight.
3. Cut away any remaining paper.
- Use a small pair of scissors to trim and cut away any excess paper around the glass cabochon.
4. Glue a glass cabochon (with a thumbprint heart attached) into each pendant tray.
- Apply jewelry adhesive or glue to the inside of a pendant tray. (Again, be mindful not to use too much, or it can smear the thumbprint heart art or cause it to look cloudy.)
- Place the glass gem with a thumbprint heart into the pendant tray and press down to remove air bubbles.
- Hold the glass cabochon down firmly for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Wipe the edges of the thumbprint heart charm clean with a damp cloth.
- Allow the fingerprint necklace pendant to dry overnight.
5. String each fingerprint heart pendant onto a necklace, chain, or cord.
- Thread a necklace through the loop of the thumbprint heart pendant to finish your fingerprint heart necklace.
- Hand bead a necklace or use one of the pre-made necklace options below:
- Sterling silver snake chain necklace (fit all pendant shapes)
- Silver-plated snake chain necklaces (fit all pendant shapes)
- Imitation leather cord necklaces (fit all pendant shapes)
- Multi-colored satin silk necklaces (fit into oval pendants but not square pendants)
- If you choose to make a homemade necklace, please ensure that you string the thumbprint heart pendant onto it when it is halfway finished. Otherwise, the homemade fingerprint charm may not fit over the beads to hang down in the middle.
Related: Personalized Heart Candle Holder Gift Idea
Related: Salt Dough Handprint and Footprint Heart Keepsake
Fingerprint or Thumbprint Heart Necklace DIY Step-by-Step Video Tutorial
Step-by-step directions for making fingerprint heart necklaces and thumbprint heart keychains are in the video below.
Another fun idea is to make fingerprint art necklaces, photo necklaces, fingerprint flower necklaces, or keychains. Click on the link for all the DIY details. 🙂
Related: Four Season Handprint and Fingerprint Tree Keepsake Craft and Gift
Fingerprint Necklace Gift Idea Kids Can Make
DIY Thumbprint heart necklaces, thumbprint heart keychains, and thumbprint heart magnets make an easy gift idea for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day Grandparent’s Day, or an anniversary. They are also a fun keepsake heart craft to make at summer camp!
DIY photo necklaces and keychains are lovely handmade gift ideas kids or adults can make for their loved ones including that special someone. If you are making thumbprint heart necklaces to give as gifts, we recommend making fingerprint love bug cards to go with them. They are also made with a thumbprint heart and are a perfect way complement to the gift of a thumbprint heart necklace.
DIY “Thumb-Buggy” Fingerprint Love Bug Card
You can see one of the fingerprint love bugs with a thumbprint heart that my daughter made in the photograph below. Isn’t they cute?! We have several thumb-buggy card message ideas that you can use in addition to “Thumb-Buggy Loves You” shown in the photograph below to personalize your gift for several holidays and other festive occasions, including Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or an anniversary!
Easy Keepsake Crafts and Homemade Gift Ideas Ideas
And be sure to pop over to check out these other beautiful thumbprint heart gift ideas kids can make. Or this list of DIY and ready-made gift ideas for the whole family. Simple keepsakes, such as fingerprint and thumbprint crafts and gifts, are always a favorite with friends and family. Look at this list of thumbprint heart crafts and gift ideas for even more homemade keepsake gift ideas.
Heart Art and Craft Ideas
For more heart arts and crafts have a look at these fun heart art projects and painting ideas. Several of the suggested heart art crafts, painting ideas, and projects would also make a great gift idea for someone special.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE.
More Fingerprint and Thumbprint Craft Ideas
- Fingerprint Art Magnets
- Thumbprint heart magnets
- Fingerprint Art Necklaces
- DIY Fingerprint Art Keychains and Backpack Charms
- Fingerprint Flower Necklaces or Keychains
- Easy Fingerprint Lights Christmas Cards
- Best Fingerprint Art Ideas for Kids
- Cute Fingerprint Snowman
- Christmas Wreath Fingerprint Art
- Four Season Handprint and Fingerprint Tree Art
thejewelcreation says
This is so cool and sweet ! Never thought of this
Thanks
nell says
Thank you! I’m so glad you like it and have found it useful. 🙂
Heather says
We started making the fingerprints, and I went ahead and started the glue and glass process, the ink started to run.
I’m not sure if it’s because to much mod podge, or if the ink wasn’t dry, or wrong kind of ink.
Any suggestions.
Do you think I can wash the paper of the glass and try again lol
Nell Regan M.A. says
Hi Heather, I’m so sorry that the ink ran. Yes, usually, it is because the ink is not dry or you have used too much glue. You should be able to wash the fingerprint art off and start again. And if you try that, I recommend the following:
First, soak the glass gems in hot soapy water for about an hour.
Next, use a razor blade or another scrapping tool of some kind to remove the paper and glue.
If any paper and glue remain, you can try using Goo Gone to remove it.
Good luck and happy crafting!
Nell