Valentine’s Day is coming soon! Children will pass out valentines to all their friends and classmates, and couples will exchange flowers and candy. It’s the perfect time to remember the importance of love in our lives. The holiday also presents an opportunity for making adorable heart-shaped crafts with your child. Here are a few Valentine’s Day crafts that we love.
Bird Feeder Hearts
Crafting projects often end up stashed away and eventually thrown away, despite your best intentions. What if you could make an adorable craft that could be put to use? These bird feeder hearts can do just that, making them more sustainable and fun than the average craft. They’re easy to make, especially with the help of older children.
Recipe
For the hearts
¾ cup of flour
½ cup of water
1 2.5 teaspoon envelope of unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons of corn syrup
4 cups of birdseed
Other items needed
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Cooking spray
Pieces of ribbon
Gift tags
Instructions
Spray a spoon with cooking spray.
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Spray the inside of a heart-shaped cookie cutter, place it on the parchment paper, then fill it with birdseed, packing it down as you go.
Spray a second spoon with cooking spray to pat down the heart, making sure it’s really packed in.
Make a hole near the top center using a chopstick or similar object
Remove the cookie cutter, fixing up the edges, then let them sit overnight
The next day, put a ribbon through the center of each heart, and tie the ends together
Tie a gift tie to each ribbon
Perler Bead Valentines
Who says Valentine’s cards need to be made from cardstock? Playing with perler beads will bring you right back to the days when you were making cards for your classmates. It will also show your child a fun, easy form of crafting. For this project, you will need to use an iron, so you may need to help a younger child.
Items needed
Perler beads
Perler bead pegboard
Parchment paper
Iron
Small 2.75-inch glassine envelopes
Washi tape
Instructions
Arrange beads on a pegboard into a heart shape, and build a square around the heart. Make the overall size 12 pegs across to fit into a 2.75-inch envelope.
When the design is complete, lay parchment paper over the beads
Set the heated iron on the parchment paper, holding for 10-15 seconds
Allow plastic to cool
Once it has cooled, remove the square from the pegboard, and place into an envelope. Seal the envelope with washi tape.
Yarn Heart Art
A staple of crafting, yarn can be used in many ways to create works of art with a homemade feel. You can dive into crocheting or knitting with your child, create a design using a board with nails, or do this simple project. These pieces of 3D art make wonderful decorative gifts despite how simple they are to make.
Items needed
Red yarn, preferably in multiple shades
Flat wooden hearts, various sizes
Small canvases, around 6” x 6”
Instructions
Wrap the wooden hearts with yarn, forming the round shape as you wrap. Be careful to make sure it holds the heart shape.
If you are using multiple colors, be sure to alternate between the two colors when you’re wrapping.
Tuck in the loose thread.
Hot glue the hearts to the canvas.
If your child loves to paint, consider having them paint the canvas, making sure it fully dries before sticking anything on it. A bright solid color like yellow or blue can make the red hearts pop and add another dimension to this simple project.
Crafting for Valentine’s Day gives you a chance to spend quality time with your child and allows your child to spread love through homemade gifts. At North Tampa Christian Academy, a Tampa private school, students thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.