Share the love with gelatin heart gems

Valentine's Day hearts come in all shapes and sizes in this fun kitchen craft using simple ingredients: unflavored gelatin, food coloring and water. In fact, any shape can have its moment in the sun when the plain gelatin stain-glass-like artistic renderings harden into translucent pieces resembling some of the twists and turns of world-famous artist Dale Chihuly's sculptural glass works. It's an activity the whole family can enjoy together to make unique household decorations or embellishments for clothing and shoes.

Here's how to turn unflavored gelatin and water into wacky hard-as-plastic heart shapes:

1. To make the concoction, an adult should stir together 9 tablespoons of water and several drops of food coloring in a saucepan over low heat. Add three envelopes of unflavored gelatin such as Knox, stirring for about 30 seconds or until dissolved.

2. Pour the mixture into a large plastic lid with a rim and a thickness of at least 1/4 inch (a 24-ounce coffee can plastic cover or a lid from a large plastic deli container works well.) Spread air bubbles to the edge with a spoon. Let set on the kitchen counter for no longer than 45 minutes.

3. Remove the flexible gelatin disk from the lid. The disk will be pliable enough to make cutouts with heart-shape cookie cutters. Be sure to keep any odd gelatin scraps left from the cutouts to make free-form designs. For a mobile hanger, leave the entire outer round rim intact.

4. Use a straw to poke holes into shapes for stringing. Dry the shapes for three to four days on a cooling rack until completely hard.

5. Fasten strings, fishing line or embroidery thread to hearts and tie to open spaces or the rim of the leftover round disk for a fanciful mobile.

6. If you make a variety of shapes, glue the gems on the front of a barrette clasp. Tie them on your gym shoes or through a ribbon on a gift for extra panache. Store leftover pieces in a shoebox to use for future projects.

Tip: As the pieces dry they tend to curl, which makes them unique. However, if you want them to remain fairly flat, dry them between two kitchen HandiWipes, held taut in an embroidery hoop.

Note: This concoction is not edible.

Heart-shaped treats are for the birds

Give a little heart or two, or even three, to your backyard feathered friends on Valentine's Day with this birdseed treat shaped with cookie cutters. An ideal kitchen craft to enjoy with preschoolers when the big kids are off at school, it's also super-fun for older kids to do with the whole family on a weekend afternoon.

Pick up a bag of birdseed, packets of unflavored gelatin and root through your cupboards for cookie cutters, then you're all set to go.

COOKIE CUTTER BIRDSEED TREATS

2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin, such as Knox brand

1/2 cup boiling water

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups birdseed

Baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper

4-6 heart-shaped cookie cutters, roughly 3-inches by 4-inches

2 straws, cut into 3-inch pieces

String or twine

1. In a large bowl, an adult should pour the boiling water into the gelatin. Stir until dissolved, and then add 1 1/2 cups birdseed. Stir until birdseed is coated, adding more seed if mixture is too watery.

2. Meanwhile, arrange the cookie cutters on the lined baking sheet.

3. Spoon the mixture into the cookie cutters. Press down with the back of a spoon, or compact the mixture with fingers using a piece of waxed paper between fingers and the mixture.

4. Insert a straw piece into each shape to create a hole for hanging, and leave in place.

5. Set the baking sheet of filled cookie cutters in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove and let stand in a dry room overnight or until hard, turning the filled cookie cutters occasionally.

6. Carefully pop each treat out of its cookie cutter. Remove straws, thread string or twine through the holes, and hang from a tree branch, fence or deck railing. Makes four to six bird treats

TIP: Extra birdseed in your bag? Take a pine cone, roll it around in peanut butter until it's completely covered, then roll it once more in birdseed. Tie a string around it and hang it outside.

Donna Erickson's award-winning series "Donna's Day" is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna's Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is "Donna Erickson's Fabulous Funstuff for Families." (c) 2016 Donna Erickson. Distributed by King Features Synd.