Have A Heart Valentine’s Craft

With Valentine’s Day arrives an opportunity to communicate one’s feelings to another, whether friend, Valentine Projects, or family. What better time to devote to this colorful tradition than a rainy day? by Deborah Greco

Materials:
Newspaper or old sheet to cover work surface
Stencils, shapes
Ruler, tape, child-safe scissors
White or clear school glue
White paper, colored paper
Construction paper or cereal boxes
Markers, crayons, colored pencils
Old magazines or catalogs
Old greeting cards
Bits of ribbon, fabric, lace, bits of Styrofoam
Optional items: posterboard, lightweight cardboard, tissue, paper doilies, glue stick, foil, glitter, gift wrap paper, hole punch

Parent Directions: Cover work surface making sure the material is firmly attached. Part of this experience is the gathering of materials within the context of a game to promote your child’s individual creativity. If you don’t have a heart stencil or shape, print one from here. When all materials are together, check for safety and sanity (you don’t want to sacrifice your heirloom greeting cards to this project).

Child Directions: Take a lined piece of paper and write the names of everyone on your Valentine’s Day list. Now you know how many cards or gifts you’ll need! Tape or glue several different sized heart shapes to pieces of cereal box and cut along lines. These will be your patterns. Use regular paper, construction paper or cereal boxes for cards and bookmarks. Use cereal boxes, posterboard or lightweight cardboard for picture frames, treat boxes, heart boxes, crowns. Place heart patterns, right side up and upside down, on material to be used, trace and cut.

Note: If you are using pictures from catalogs or magazines, glue or paste them to cereal boxes/cardboard first. This way, you only have to cut along the pattern once. Always paste decorative pages on the printed side of cereal box stock, then the plain side is ready for your personal designs and decorating.