Getting Crafty for Valentine’s Day
My college roommate was talking about her new mother-in-law a few years back, describing her as “crafty.”
“Crafty, in a good way,” I asked? I was thinking sneaky Machiavellian crafty.
“No, not evil crafty. Arts and crafty!”
Ah!
My brain just does not compute crafty because I am not good at arts and crafts. The thought of homemade Valentines as my kids’ school requires typically fills me with dread because my kids are too old for my old standby: paper lace and pink heart paper cutouts.
Thankfully, this year I have Pinterest and the Kids Blogger Network. I am going to use these resources for homemade Valentines this year. If that doesn’t work out, we can always use ecards from Hallmark. Here are some ideas I’m considering.
Do you make or buy Valentines? Please share your ideas!
The Imagination Tree has lots of heart crafts ideas ideal for making cards for different age recipients. I like her potato print cards for school Valentines and her heart-shaped photo holder would be perfect for grandparents. The red and white clay heart ornaments would be another option that would stand out for school Valentines.
Doodles and Jots demonstrates how to make your own heart-shaped box instead of buying one. In real life, she’s a product designer. Can’t you tell? My older kids would love to make this! It would be perfect for a teacher gift and she gives a recipe for chocolate pretzels. Now, I just have to save cereal boxes!
Thompson and Spring have a great idea for school Valentines that are both useful and fun!
Even though Lil Sugar uses toilet paper rolls to make hearts for toddlers, it is a great idea for elementary school-age kids too! Quick and easy! Readily available materials! We always have empty toilet paper rolls. You could use paint or a stamp pad. We could use watercolor paper.
And how about this actual photo shot by Doodles and Jots? Can you believe it? I’d print it out to make Valentine cards!
For a picture book, I chose graphic novel picture book The Yuckiest, Stinkiest Best Valentine Ever by Brenda Ferber, illustrated by Tedd Arnold
If you like retold fairy tales, this is a version of The Gingerbread Man. Leon creates a beautiful Valentine to give to his crush Zoey, but the Valentine has other ideas. It comes to life, tells Leon that Valentine’s Day is all about the candy, and runs off saying …
Love is yucky,
Stinky too!
It will
turn your brain to
GOO!
The complications of Valentine’s Day! There is a cute and happy ending too! This would be a cute Valentine’s Day gift for anyone!
Click on image to view at Amazon or here to see at Barnes and Noble.
p.s. My 7th grade daughter, Grasshopper and Sensei, is interning at Felix Doolittle. They make beautiful custom and fine stationery. She helped them with their Valentine’s mini note cards.
Here she is stamping the hearts on the Love Notes envelopes.
I like them for birthday present cards. They are the size of business cards so they are perfect for a quick but beautiful note. They are $20 and are packaged in a beautiful tin.
Petite Love Notes from Felix Doolittle.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Art with Kids on Pinterest.
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BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
Great post! And not just because you mentioned me twice ; )
Thanks for the fun ideas. The ruler is great! I have seen the paper tube heart before and it is one of my favorites!
I love all the hand done processes involved with the Felix Doolittle products. Makes them extra special!
And must get that book! My son LOVES Gingerbread Man books!
Hi Doodles and Jots,
My daughter is making my order of Felix Doolittle stuff and it’s amazing how many steps there are! All the corners of each card are hand cut. Each cut is done by hand too, one at a time. It’s a very time-consuming and meticulous process!
I wanted my kids to make Valentine’s doing that preschool heart shaped toilet paper roll and then maybe embellish it but now they won’t because they think it’s for little kids. We still have to figure out our Valentine’s Day cards! Ugh!
These cards are so unique & adorable!
Hi Asian Mommy,
Thank you so much! I feel like Felix Doolittle Fine Stationery is the best kept secret in the world!
That is so cool that your daughter is interning at Felix Doolittle! What a great experience for her!!!
Hi MaryAnne,
For a creative like my daughter, it’s been fun to see how you can turn your art into products and a business. They are also a family-run business and very, very nice to work for!
Evil-crafty! I love that. You’ve shared some great ideas!
Hi Mom and Kiddo,
You can tell that I’m not so good at arts and crafts, right? When I hear crafty, my first thought is scheming and conniving. LOL!
I really like the cardboard toilet heart idea. Never heard of that one! So easy for babies and toddlers.
Hi Barbara Ann,
LOL, I’m trying to get my 10-year-old and 8-year-old to do that for Valentine’s Cards. They think it’s babyish, but I am telling them to use the cardboard tube heart as the starting point and then adding more color or embellishment. It’s not going over too well yet…