Valentine's Day Crafts For Kids

Most kids love to do craft projects, especially when there's a holiday and the opportunity to give their art project to someone as a gift is there. My daughter loves to make things for others, it's so sweet! Any mom or dad would certainly appreciate a keepsake gift from their little princess or prince that will make them smile each time they look at it.

Below are a few craft projects that we have done in our home and that are pretty easy to do with young kids. Remember, though - supervision is always necessary when working with crafting supplies.

For more craft ideas, check out my Homemade Valentine's Day Presents article.

Be crafty and have some fun with your kids - create memories and keepsakes for all of your loved ones!

Melted crayon hearts – Gather several shades of red and pink crayons – you can also add in some purple and orange if you like. With a sharpener, twist away at the crayons to create “shavings” (depending on the age of child helpers, this may have to be done by the grown up.)

Cut two large pieces of wax paper and lay one out on an ironing board or a surface safe to iron on. Mix up all the crayon shavings and spread them out on the wax paper, making sure they overlap. Carefully place the second sheet of wax paper on top. Place a towel on top and with an iron set at a low to medium temperature; gently iron the whole surface to melt the crayon shavings. Once the shavings are all melted, remove the towel and allow the crayon to dry.

Once dry, cut out hearts – same size, different sizes, it’s up to you. You can be creative in deciding how to give these to a loved one – you can punch a hole at the top of the hearts and string ribbon through each one and hang them or place a couple of them in a homemade Valentine’s Day card, or use them to decorate a Valentine’s Day gift basket.

Heart Bookmark – This practical valentine is perfect for your favorite bookworm.  To make, print out the heart template at right, cut it out and trace it onto heavy card stock.

Copy the heart at 80% of the original size, cut it out, and trace onto decorative paper, such as wrapping or origami paper.  Cut out both hearts and use a glue stick to secure smaller patterned heart to center of larger one and let dry. 

Finally, trace bottom half of inner heart with a utility knife, cutting through card stock beneath.  Your valentine can slip pages between the hearts.  This can be given to a special someone by itself or with a book, magazine or a beautiful journal. 

Hand Print or Heart Plant - This is a simple, yet adorable project that you can feel free to add your own special touch to. It would make a great Valentines Day gift for any family member and a special Mother's Day gift, too.

Trace child's hand print onto construction paper, then cut it out. Help the child decorate the hand - it can be covered in glitter (first spread glue over the entire surface and then sprinkle glue on top - it's best to do this over a paper plate or the like to as not to make a mess and you can save the droppings), or decorated with glitter glue and a when dry, glue a photo of the child in the center. Glue the hand to a sturdy popsicle stick and then anchor it in a piece of floral foam, cut to fit inside a small flower pot.

To cover the floral foam you can either cut a circle out of construction paper the same diameter as the top opening of the pot, put a slit in the middle and slide the popsicle stick through and then into the foam. Another option would be to crinkle up pieces of tissue paper and glue to the top around the popsicle stick.

You could also cut out a flower shape or a heart shape instead of the handprint. These are great keepsakes - I love mine (above)!

Noodle/Pasta Necklace - For little ones, this is a fun and easy project that takes minimal effort and supplies. You'll need yarn and rigatoni noodle, or noodle of your choice. String pasta onto yarn and tie. Make sure you make it long enough to slip over the wearer's head.

Optional steps: Press a flower between two pieces of clear contact paper, then cut a heart shape around the flower. Punch a hole in top of heart and hang from the pasta necklace. Be creative and have fun with it!