Heart Spinners: Pencil Toppers, Keychains & More

Print in place models! Fun options for kids, party favors, Valentine's Day and more. Those young and young at heart will enjoy these Pencil Toppers, Keychains, and Spinners. I designed these with my kids for their Valentine's Day distributions to their friends at school. See list below for more!

19 STL Files Included

★ Note: All STL files are included in a .zip folder. Copies of four of the files are included outside the folder for the Cults preview on this page.

Also see my Star Spinners (a separate post).

Most designs come with two versions for the heart: "Center" and "Lower." My original design had the heart low within the circle, but I think it looks better centered. My family likes both, so I included options here. Which will your family choose?

The "Triple Heart Spinner" was added later, only with a centered heart.

Try a filament swap half way through the print for a two-color look!

Valentine's Day Tradition

My kids and I have established a tradition of designing something new to 3D print each year for the valentines that they share with the other students in their classes on Valentine's Day.

• 2020: Heart Magnet
• 2021: Heart Alien Tiny Tessellation
• 2022: Valentine Keychains
• 2023: Heart Spinners
• 2024: Heart Maze

See my Kids & Toys Collection and my Hearts Collection for more designs made with love.

Details about Models

Spinners
Spinners have thick and thin versions. The thick was the original design based on the pencil topper. The thin style works better for the keychain. The thin one prints faster, of course, but I think the thick one is more satisfying to hold. Play with both!

Keychains/Pendants
The keychains with the "Raised Loop" look better with a centered loop, however the loop needs supports to print well. (See note in 3D Printing Settings below.) The "No Supports" version has the loop flush with the edge of the ring for simpler printing.

The keychain models could work well as a pendant, but a jump ring would help it hang better from a necklace.

Pencil Toppers
The Pencil Holders are provided in six different hole diameters: 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.15, 8.25, and 8.5 mm. For the pencils we were using, I found that 8.0 mm works best with prints from one printer but is too loose with prints from another printer. I included an STL file that has test models of the six different sizes so you can try out and keep track of the options. (If you don't want to print all six test models, separate the models in your slicer.)

Pro Tip: If you plan to give away the pencil toppers with pencils (as valentines in school, for example), be sure to acquire the pencils you plan to use BEFORE you print a whole class set of toppers. Test the sizing!

Models print flat without supports. (*See note below.) Pencil Topper and "Thick" Spinner are 11 mm in the z-direction. The "Thin" Spinner and Keychain models are 8 mm in the z-direction.

I printed everything with 0.2 mm layer height, 3 or 4 perimeters, 10% infill, and 3 top and bottom layers.

Bridging
The bar through the heart prints using bridging across the diameter of the ring, so you may need to be attentive to your bridging settings for the most success with these. I noticed that the prints with one of my toolheads were not spinning well and I could tell it was an issue with the bridging. I tried rotating the model 90º in the slicer and it printed significantly better.

Note About Supports
*If you prefer the Keychain with "Raised Loop" in the center of the ring, it will need a little bit of support under the loop. However, be sure that you include support ONLY under the loop or at least select supports to print only from the build plate. Otherwise, the slicer may generate supports inside the heart around the bar and it will not be able to spin.

Not for commercial use. No derivatives. See © link below.