20 easy Valentine's crafts for kids

Why waste all that money buying things on Valentines day when you can make them? They'll be cuter and more lovely then anything from a shop! Get creative for the day of love - for anyone from two years old and up.

Valentine's Day pencils

These Valentine's Day pencils are not only a super cute way to add some bling to your kid's school supplies, they might even get her excited about writing! Now that's a win-win.

Best for kids age: 5 and up

Blogger behind the idea: The Gunny Sack

What you'll need: Pencils, hot glue, red and silver acrylic paint, and red and silver pipe cleaners

How to make it: Using a small paintbrush, paint the pencils red or silver (or just buy red or silver pencils). While they're drying, mold the red pipe cleaners into heart shapes and mold the silver pipe cleaners into spirals (leaving some 'un-molded' space at the end to wrap around the pencil). Wrap the end of the pipe cleaner around the pencil and add a little hot glue to hold in place. You can put a bunch in a jar with ribbon to give as a gift to your kid's teacher or just give one to each classmate.
Valentine twig arrows

This cute-as-can-be cupid's arrow craft is easy for kids to create - and you'll heart the results.

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Carolyn's Homework

What you’ll need: Twigs from your own backyard, felt and baker's twine (or regular string)

How to make it: Cut the felt into arrow tip and feather shapes and glue to the ends of the twigs. Tie the string to the end with the feather-shaped felt and voila: Cupid's arrows are ready to go!

Tip: If your kids are a little too young for sharp-stick gathering, use straws instead of twigs.
Valentine pins

The kids can literally wear their hearts on their sleeves... and on their jackets, cardis, t-shirts and more!

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Purl Bee

What you’ll need: Red, pink, orange or purple felt; scissors or pinking shears; embroidery thread; crafting needle; cotton balls; and medium-sized safety pins.

How to make it: Print out a heart template. Trace the pattern onto the felt and repeat. Cut out the hearts from the felt, and pair the shapes together. Thread the crafting needle with an 18-inch long piece of embroidery thread. Sew two felt pieces together, leaving a small gap at the top. Stuff the heart with cotton and sew shut. Attach a safety pin through the back of the heart and secure on your kid’s jacket, cardi or t-shirt.
Heart potato stamps

Here's a use for a potato that's about past its shelf life. Great for cards, picture frames, even tee shirts if you use fabric paint.

Best for kids age: Any age

Blogger behind the idea: Homemade Serenity

What you’ll need: Cardstock, paint, potato, heart shaped cookie cutter, paper and a small pairing knife

How to make it: Begin by cutting your potato in half near the widest portion. Using your small heart shaped cookie cutter, insert it into the potato until the top is flush with the flat end of the potato. Adults, using a small sharp pairing knife, cut into the potato about 1/4 of an inch down until you feel your knife touch the cookie cutter. Continue cutting all the way around the potato until the waste is easily removed. Make sure to press your stamp firmly on the paper, but don't rock it back and forth too much.
Handprint hearts

Yes you get a cute V-day gift from this project - but the real bonus? A sweet keepsake of baby's little hands.

Best for kids age: Any age

Blogger behind the idea: Meet the Dubiens

What you’ll need: White paper, paint (red and pink), paintbrushes and a black sharpie.

How to make it: Paint the palm of one hand red. Stamp the hand on your paper facing downwards on a diagonal. Paint the opposite palm pink. Stamp the hand on your paper facing downwards on a diagonal, opposite the other handprint - they will overlap to make a heart. Using your black sharpie, write cute little messages around the heart handprints.
Heart fish

Create a school of these sweet fish and hang them from the mantel, the windowsill, anywhere!

Best for kids age: Age 2 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Silly Eagle Books

What you’ll need: Two colours of construction paper, googly eyes, heart-shaped confetti, scissors and glue

How to make it: Cut out four hearts - one large one for the body, one for the tail, one for the fin, and one for the lips. Glue together, and glue on a googly eye. Throw on the confetti for some sparkly scales.
M&M matchbox treats

Perfect for little hands—and little pockets—these decorative matchboxes are great for storing sweets, secret love notes and showing off your kids' artwork.

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Inchmark

What you’ll need: Matchboxes, M&Ms, a mix of patterned and solid paper, tape, scissors, string, name tags and a pen.

How to make it: Gather all the empty matchbox spares you have around the house and dump out the matches. Cut 2” x 4” pieces of craft paper, wrap them around the matchboxes and secure with tape. Add embellishments with stamps, paper scraps or kids' artwork. Fill the boxes with M&Ms, tuck in Valentine’s Day notes and attach name tags with the string.
Pop-up heart card

Every little kid loves the charm of pop-up books. Now, they can recreate the magic with this 3D Valentine’s Day card.

Best for kids age: 6 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Alphamom

What you’ll need: White card stock; red construction paper; double-stick tape; glue; and kid-safe scissors.

How to make it: Cut out a heart-shaped pattern from the red construction paper. Then fold the white paper into quarters. Open it up and fold in half lengthwise. Fold the heart-shaped cutout over the edge of one of the creased quarters. Cut around the heart’s edge until you come to the roundest part, then stop. Next, cut along the heart’s diagonal side, starting from the bottom. Stop once the shape’s side starts to curve. Set aside the pattern and fold the heart to the left side. Refold the paper the short way and reverse the pop-up heart’s folds. Glue the red heart down onto the white pop-up. Let dry, and then carefully close.
Button heart

Paper hearts get a pretty upgrade when you add colourful buttons to them. We're in love!

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Hands On - As We Grow

What you'll need: Red paper, glue and assorted buttons

How to make it: Cut a heart out of red construction paper and 'draw on' some glue in a fun, swirl-shaped pattern. Let your kiddo pick the buttons and place them along the glue line.
Heart-shaped paper clips

Don’t know what to do with that drawer full of old paper clips? Have the kids turn ordinary office supplies into adorable, heart-shaped clips. Attach them to love notes (or homework assignments to charm their teachers) for a sweet, simple way to share some V-Day love.

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: How About Orange

What you’ll need: Jumbo pink paperclips.

How to make it: Bend the open-ended half of the paperclip at the midpoint and fold horizontally until it transforms into a heart.
Hearts on a string

Are the kids learning the days of the week at school? Make a weeklong countdown to Valentine’s Day with this mobile. For each day that goes by, add on a heart.

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger behind the idea: How About Orange

What you’ll need: Red and pink construction paper; ruler; pencil; kid-safe scissors; double-sided tape; and thread.

How to make it: Cut the coloured paper into seven ¾-inch strips. Fold each strip in half and curl the ends around a pencil. Repeat. Sandwich a 24-inch piece of thread and double-sided tape between the two curled halves so the heart sticks together. Then, have the kids attach a heart on the string approximately an inch apart from one another every day until Valentine’s Day!
Candy conversation rings

Little girls will love the sweet rings, big girls will love taking them to school to show off. (And to give to their BFF, their teacher, the babysitter, etc.)

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Blue Moss Girls

What you’ll need: Candy hearts, ring blanks and hot glue

How to make it: Simply glue the conversation hearts to the ring blanks. Done!
Cinnamon hearts

The heart-shaped cinnamon ornament is perfect for Valentine's Day - but the real fun is watching the birds touch down for a meal!

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Silly Eagle Books

What you’ll need: Large jar of cinnamon, applesauce, PVA glue, heart-shaped cookie cutters, drinking straw and ribbon

How to make it: Mix equal parts cinnamon and applesauce together in a bowl, and dump in the entire bottle of glue. Mix until dough-like. Roll out the dough and cut with the cookie cutters. Punch a hole in the top of each ornament with the straw. Let the ornaments dry for several days. When completely dry, string a ribbon through the hole and hang.
Valentine's day doormat

The sweet doormat does two great things: It's a loving reminder that gets everyone to wipe their feet.

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Skip To My Lou

What you’ll need: Light-coloured carpet samples, foam sheets, small blocks of wood, paint brushes, rubber cement and red and pink acrylic paint

How to make it: Trace a few hearts on the foam sheets. Cut out the shapes and attach them separately to the small blocks of wood with rubber cement. Let dry. Pour the paint into separate containers. Coat the foam hearts liberally with paint and press firmly onto the carpet. If there are any paint gaps, use a paintbrush to touch them up.
String hearts

These turn out beautifully, and are a great use for leftover wool scraps!

Best for kids age: 2 and up

Blogger behind the idea: 2 Little Hooligans

What you’ll need: Pink and red wool, wooden hearts, canvas and a glue gun

How to make it: Simply wrap the wooden hearts (find them at any craft store!) with the wool, completely covering the form. Glue the hearts to the canvas.
Tic-tac-toe hearts

This over-sized Tic-Tac-Toe board uses cool, heart-shaped bean bags for the X's and O's.

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Marie LeBaron (of Makes and Takes) for Alphamom.com

What you’ll need: Red poster board, black marker, ruler, red and pink felt, dry beans and a hot glue gun

How to make it: Cut a large heart from the poster board. Then, draw the Tic-Tac-Toe grid. Trace 10 small heart shapes on the red felt and 10 of the same-sized hearts on the pink felt. Cut them out and make 5 red heart pairs and 5 pink pairs. Glue one heart on top of the other, leaving enough space to slip in the beans. Fill the heart with the dry beans and close the open hole with hot glue once the bean bag is half full. Repeat with the rest of the pairs.
Stained glass hearts

It's hard to believe these heart-shaped sun catchers are made from only wax paper and melted crayons!

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger Behind the Idea: Skip To My Lou

What you’ll need: Red, pink, yellow and orange crayons, wax paper, crayon sharpener, iron, cardboard, pencil, hole puncher, scissors and ribbon

How to make it: Peel the paper off the crayons and sharpen them over a piece of wax paper. Then, place another sheet over the shavings. Iron the paper at the lowest setting until the shavings have melted. Let cool. Draw a heart on the wax paper and cut it out. Punch a hole and tie a ribbon at the top so you can hang it in the window.
Love buttons

These decorative, easy-to-make, heart-shaped button covers can be made in less than 15 minutes to spruce up a button-down shirt. So easy!

Best for kids age: 3 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Going Starfishing

What you’ll need: Red and white felt, pencil, ruler and scissors

How to make it: Trace a few 1 1/2" hearts on the felt. Cut them out and make vertical slits down the center of each. Then, slide them over the buttons on your kid's shirt.
Heart-shaped wreath

This festive wreath, made from bits of scrap fabric, looks welcoming on any door.

Best for kids age: 6 and up

Blogger behind the idea: Little Birdie Secrets

What you’ll need: Fabric scraps cut into 2" squares (they can be red or an assortment of different colours), Styrofoam heart, glue, pencil, scissors and red ribbon

How to make it: First, fill a shallow bowl with a little bit of glue. Then, place a fabric square on the tip of a pencil and dip the covered tip into the glue. Press the tip into the Styrofoam. Remove the pencil and the fabric should stay in place. Repeat the process until the heart’s completely covered, then tie a ribbon at the top and hang.
Egg-cellent heart art

It’s an easy-to-make project that shows kids that rubbish can really turn into a treasured art piece.

Best for kids age: 4 and up

Blogger behind the idea: A Little Hut

What you’ll need: 1 cardboard egg carton, red paint, paint brushes, red poster board, scissors, glue and a frame

How to make it: Cut the egg holders out of the carton.Then, trim three-quarters off the top of each holder and paint them red. Once they’re dry, glue them with the open sides down into a heart shape on the poster board. Place the craft inside a simple frame and hang on your kid’s wall.
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