Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to let someone know you care. Here are a few fun valentines day crafts and hearty gifts to make and share with someone you love.
Cupid’s Caterpillar
Items needed:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Red and pink paint
- Paintbrush
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Markers
- Glue
- Pipe cleaners
- Sequins
- Buttons
- Beads and lace
Cut out one row from an egg carton to create the caterpillar’s body. Paint it red or pink. Cut a small, heart-shaped face from construction paper and glue onto the front side of the carton. Cut pipe cleaners in half and poke into the head to make antennae. Embellish with sequins, buttons, beads and pieces of lace.
Lovely Placemats
Items needed:
- 12- x 18-inch red or pink construction paper
- Stickers
- Doilies
- Stencils
- Glitter glue
- Crayons
- Markers.
Decorate a large sheet of construction paper with stickers and doilies. Use stencils, glitter glue, crayons or markers to create a unique design. To make a fork and spoon holder, glue the lower half of a doily to the paper, leaving the top free to slip in the utensils. Personalize the placemat by writing a special message or poem to someone you love.
Bleeding Greetings
Items needed:
- Newspaper
- 4 different colors of food coloring
- Water
- Four bowls
- Plain white paper towels
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Writing pen
Cover your workspace with newspaper. Place bowls over the newspaper and put a few drops of food coloring into each bowl, one color per bowl. Add a little water to each bowl to dilute. Fold a paper towel four times, then dip the edges, corners and folds into the different colors. Notice how the colors begin to bleed (or run) together. Carefully open the paper towel and lay it on the newspaper to dry. Once it is dry, use scissors to cut the paper towel into various-sized heart shapes. Now fold a piece of construction paper in half and glue the bleeding hearts to the front of your construction paper card. Write a message inside for that special someone.
Love the stuffins out of you!
Items needed:
- Large brown paper bag
- Pinking shears or scissors
- Hole punch
- Red or pink ribbon or yarn
- Markers
- Small wrapped candies.
Using pinking shears or scissors, cut two large identical hearts from the brown paper bag. On the center of one of the hearts, write a valentine message or draw a smiling face. Place the two hearts together and use the hole punch to make holes all the way around the paper bag hearts. Start at the hole just to the right of the top center of the heart and begin lacing the two hearts together. When you get three-fourths of the way around, stop and fill the heart with small wrapped candies. Now lace the rest of the way around. Tie both ends together to make a bow in the top center of the heart. Give to a friend you ”love the stuffins out of!”
Read children’s books for Valentine’s Day, like these available at local libraries:
- “The Biggest Valentine Ever” by Steven Kroll
- “Cam Jensen and the Valentine Baby Mystery” by David Adler
- “The Day it Rained Hearts” by Felicia Bond
- “Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper’s House” by Cynthia Rylant
- “Love Notes” by Kate Buckley
- “Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine” by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
- “Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink” by Diane deGroat
- “Too Many Valentines” by Margaret McNamara
Related
Valentines Day Crafts, Games and Books
Chocolate Treats Kids Love to Make for Valentines Day
A Valentines Day Family Playbook
