Make your little one your Valentine this year and spend some quality time together when the two of you work to create adorable Valentine crafts. Whether you use them to decorate around your home or you give them away to others on this special holiday, the result will be pure fun for both of you. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Clothespin Valentine: Looking for a great way to secure those cute treat sacks? This is the perfect touch. To get started, you need some wooden clothespins, decorative paper, glitter and decorative objects like heart confetti and some glue. If you can find red, white, and pink clothespins, that would be perfect. There are tons of ways to decorate them including gluing on glitter or confetti hearts. Or simply cut hearts out of the decorative paper. You’ll need two paper hearts for each clothespin, one from each side. Simply glue the hearts to each side of the clothespin, then allow it to dry. Another idea is to write cute sayings like “Love” or “Be Mine” on the clothespins with a permanent marker. No matter how you choose to decorate the pins, you’ll have a cute way to close up small kids Valentine gift or favor bags.
Be Mine Hat: Create a cute hat to wear on this special day. Grab some adhesive-backed foam hearts in two different sizes, some pipe cleaners, some white poster board, and a hot glue gun. Cut a 2 inch wide strip of the poster board to fit around your child’s head, then determine where your child’s head hits that band on either side. Mark it with a pen, and cut your pipe cleaners in half. You may need wire cutters to get through them. Glue your stems to the poster board, and glue a smaller heart on the end of each stem. Then glue a larger heart to the poster board so it’s touching the other end of the stem. Let your child decorate the remaining poster board with whatever he likes, then glue the hat closed so it will fit on your child’s head.
Conversation Heart Wreath: Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like conversation hearts, and this craft has you making them to suit your tastes and creating a cute wreath at the same time. To get started, all you need is a paper plate (or other large circle to trace), some thin cardboard (like the kind you see on cereal boxes, a heart pattern, a glue stick, some construction and/or tissue paper, and some 1/8″ wide red ribbon. Start by tracing around the plate on the cardboard. Draw another small circle inside that one and then cut the second circle out so you have a cardboard wreath. Using your heart pattern, trace hearts onto the construction paper and/or the tissue paper, and cut several of them out. You’ll need about twelve to twenty depending on the size of the hearts. You can decorate the hearts with glitter or use markers to write great conversation heart sayings on those hearts. Things like “Be Mine” and “Sweet” always work well. Arrange those on the wreath, gluing them down as you go. Punch a hole in about a 1/2 to 1 inch inside the top of the wreath and thread it with ribbon so you can hang the wreath up. Once the glue is done, you have a fantastic wreath to hang every Valentine’s Day.
Valentine Bookmarks: For this activity, you’ll need some white or colored cardstock, some decorative punches, glue sticks, and markers or crayons, as well as any other embellishments you’d like to add like sequins, googly eyes, or other creative additions. Start by cutting a 2 inch wide strip from your card stock. Then use your decorative punches (hearts work best for Valentine’s Day) to create a unique look for the top and bottom of your bookmark. Use your markers or crayons to add cute Valentine’s Day text like “You are Dynamite!” Add any embellishments you like!
About The Author
Jan Kremer is an event consultant that shares her craft ideas for kids, holiday gift suggestions, and seasonal party planning advice at www.holiday-gifts-gift-baskets.com where she is a regular blog contributor.
