Easy crafts for Valentine’s Day for children

Valentine’s Day is a day to show others how much we love them and this often includes Valentine’s Day cards and crafts. This is a great time to take out the craft station for art projects and let the kids have fun. Here are some Valentine’s Day craft ideas for your little ones to make and give away!

Crafts for Valentine’s Day for children

Most of us can remember the conversation, the candy hearts and the little paper Valentine’s Day cards we exchanged as children. However, our family is limiting processed sugar, and paper crafts can really start piling up around the house. We always have on hand tools for cleaning pipes, pompoms and stickers for art projects, but these children’s crafts go beyond that.

I wanted to do some projects with the children that would be fun for them, and also to create a useful gift for friends and family. Your little ones can also exchange these gifts at school or make some for siblings. Some of these projects will require a little more help than an adult, but are easy enough to implement for children of all ages (even preschoolers).

Valentine’s Day with wild flower seeds

This children’s craft on Valentine’s Day kills two birds with one blow. We recycle paper and help save the bees and other pollinators. They look a bit like candy hearts, but without processed sugar and food coloring. I used scrap white paper and threw some red construction paper to make it pink.

You won’t want to plant them in February, but spring (and the flower planting season) is just around the corner. Include planting instructions if these heart crafts are a gift, and be sure to use native flowers in your area. Here are some places to get GMO-free seeds:

A heart of wild flower seeds is needed

Instructions

1. Tear off the pieces of paper and place them in the blender. If you want pink hearts, you can use red and white or just make white paper. If you have a lot of paper in a certain color (such as yellow), then you can make several batches. Experiment and see what you like.
2. Put enough water in the blender to soak the paper and let it soak for about 15 minutes. Blend until thick. Add more water if necessary if the paper starts to jam.
3. Pour the paper water slurry over a sieve and sprinkle generously with wildflower seeds. You want to smooth out the mess on the screen a little so that it is not too thick.
4. Once the paper is completely dry (several hours), carefully peel it off the screen.
5. Place a heart-shaped cookie cutter on the paper and line it with a pen or marker. Cut out the heart shapes.
6. Make a card with planting instructions to give with your heart, if it is a gift.

Make your own Valentine with a heart imprint

This project is great for the little ones in the family and is a great gift for grandparents. Tracking their hands and cutting out hearts helps children practice their fine motor skills and teaches symmetry. As a family with a home school, these are just some of the skills we cover in one day! Here is the easy lesson for this sweet Valentine’s Day memory.

Wooden materials with handprint

• Red, white, pink and brown construction paper
• Cardboard
• pencil
• scissors
• Glue or glue

Instructions

1. Have your toddler trace his hand and down his arm on the brown piece of paper, helping him if necessary. Their fingers are the branches of trees, and their hand is the trunk.
2. Cut the wood by hand and stick it to another sheet of paper, preferably cardboard.
3. Fold the colored construction paper in half and draw half a heart. You will want to make a full heart once it is cut and the paper is opened. Do this several times, making hearts of different sizes and colors. This is a good time to use these little colored pieces of paper.
4. Let your little ones cut out the outline of the hearts.
5. Glue the hearts on the “branches of the trees” to make heart greenery on the tree. You can also use a heart print to add more visual contrast to the wood.
6. Don’t forget to get your kids to sign their masterpiece before you give it away!

Make your own heart-shaped pastels

Valentine’s Day crafts for children that use leftovers in the house are always a plus in my book. DIY pastels may look sophisticated, but they are easy to make. You don’t even need craft supplies for that.

I have silicone molds that I use specifically for things like lotions and sugar scrub cubes. If you plan to use a food matrix, such as vitamin C gum, then keep it separate from your molds.

Materials for pastels

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Help your child remove the paper from the crayons and break them, or cut them into smaller pieces if they are on the large side.
3. Place the pastel pieces in the silicone molds. They can use one color for each shape or mix and match for a multi-colored pastel.
4. Place the silicone mold on a baking tray for more stability and bake the pastels in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until melted.
5. Allow the pastels to cool completely before removing them from the pan.
6. You can donate them individually or attach them to a sheet of card with a message for Valentine’s Day.

Fingerprint card for Valentine’s Day

This may not be something to use like other craft ideas, but it’s a nice touch to give a homemade gift with a homemade Valentine’s Day card. Thanksgiving cards are also great in our house. Older children can make a heart collage with tissue paper, decorate it with stamps and be creative.

Materials for heart cards

• Paint (red, white or pink)
• Cardboard
• Construction paper (white, red or pink)
• Markers

Instructions

1. Put a layer of paint on your child’s hands. Have them hold their hands in a V-shape with their fingertips touching. Choose a contrasting color of paint and paper so that the colors do not mix easily. You can paint red paint on pink paper, white paint on red paper, etc.
2. Press your painted hands on a colored piece of construction paper. Allow the paint to dry.
3. Once dry, draw a heart shape around the handprints and cut it out.
4. Stick the heart cutout on some cardboard and write a personalized message.

Easier crafts for Valentine’s Day

There are a lot of fun crafts for Valentine’s Day for kids, so here are a few more ideas.

What activities do your children do on Valentine’s Day? Any special traditions? Tell us in the comments!