Help your child make these delightful Valentine's gifts and make someone happy this February 14th

Picture frame

A heart-shaped frame to display the people your child loves the best

What you need:

• Heart-shaped biscuit cutters or templates
• 9mm-wide ribbon - the length depends on the size of your heart
• Stiff cardboard - if you use felt, the cardboard does not need to be so thick
• PVA glue
• Square of felt or other fabric
• Darning needle
• Stapler and staples

1. To make frame: Cut out two same-size heart-shapes from cardboard. Use a biscuit cutter or make a template to draw around.
2. Draw a smaller heart in centre of one and cut out to make frame section.
3. Cover both heart shapes with red felt or other coloured materials of your choice. If you wish, you need only cover the front and the back, but do ensure you cover the edges.
4. Leave to dry. If using felt, place under a heavy object to keep flat.
5. To make ribbon holes: Measure small equidistant spaces around the heart and mark lightly with a pencil.
6. Place the two hearts together and use a bradle or other pointed tool to make holes through both layers at the same time.
7. To thread ribbon: Cut a length of ribbon and thread it through the eye of a darning or tapestry needle, so that you have two equal lengths.
8. Leaving half the length of ribbon loose, thread the other half through the back of the bottom hole and then through the back of the next one and so on, to the centre hole.
9. Rethread your needle with the loose end of the ribbon and, beginning in the same hole as before, thread the ribbon through the holes to the top.
10. Tie the loose ends in a bow.
11. To make stand (optional): Cut a strip of stiff cardboard about 120mm long by 30mm wide.
12. Make a 3mm fold at the top. Score lightly.
13. Cover the longest part of the strip and attach the folded piece of card to the back of the frame with glue or staples.
14. Cover the bare cardboard with a square of matching material/paper and your frame will stand up.

Decoupage tray

The perfect tray on which to deliver mum's breakfast in bed on Valentine's Day

What you need:

• Small tea tray
• Tissue paper
• Magazines
• Scissors
• PVA glue
• Varnish

1. Ask your children to cut out small pictures from magazines - give them a theme such as things that mums would love, like shoes, perfume, champagne, or simply choose a colour.
2. If the tray is not white, cover it with some tissue paper, using PVA glue.
3. Arrange your images on the tray and stick them down with PVA - make sure the images cover the sides and edges of the tray too.
4. Add as many pictures as you like until you are happy with the effect.
5. When dry, add a coat or two of water-based high-gloss varnish and leave to dry.

NOTE: A quicker way to achieve this effect is to cover the tray with a patterned wrapping paper and just add one or two larger images on top.

Flower pot

Add your Valentine's favourite plant for a special gift

What you need:

1. Paint a small terracotta plant pot with a white undercoat - poster paint, ready-mixed paint or emulsion will do.
2. Cut out four heart shapes from red tissue paper.
3. Paint the pot, plus the inside rim, in pink or a colour of your choice. To ensure a straight line around the inner rim, use masking tape to create a line.
4. Place the red hearts straight onto the wet paint - this will act like glue - and leave to dry.
5. Using PVA glue, stick glass beads at regular intervals around the outside of the rim of the pot and leave to dry.
6. Add a coat of water-based high-gloss varnish and leave to dry.

NOTE: The paint and varnish will not withstand too much water, so take care when watering your plant.

Heart-shaped chocolate box

An individual box to present one of your home-made chocolate hearts

What you need:

• Stiff white cardboard
• Heart biscuit cutter or template
• Pink felt
• Photograph or other image
• PVA glue
• Scissors

What to do:

1. Cover the sides of a small cardboard jewellery box with strips of coloured paper (the top and bottom will be hidden).
2. Cut out two heart shapes from stiff white cardboard. They should be big enough to cover the box and one needs to be 5mm larger than the other.
3. Cover one side of each heart shape in pink felt.
4. Decorate the white side of the larger of the two hearts with a smaller pink felt heart shape.
5. Add a small image (use a Valentine's themed picture or even a photograph of yourself)
6. Glue the base of the box to the felt-covered side of the smaller heart and leave to dry.
7. With the lid on the box and using the bottom heart as a guide, glue the second heart to the lid of the box. Leave to dry.

Chocolate hearts

Home-made chocolates to melt the heart of your Valentine

What you need:

• 60g dark chocolate
• 50g milk chocolate
• 40g white chocolate
• Four heart-shaped biscuit cutters of decreasing size
• Red ribbon
• Greaseproof paper
• Tray or chopping board
• Bowl
• Saucepan

What to do:

1. Arrange the heart shaped biscuit cutters on greaseproof paper on a flat tray or chopping board.
2. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl.
3. Heat gently over a pan of boiling water.
4. When melted, pour the chocolate carefully into the largest heart biscuit cutter.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for milk and white chocolate, using the medium and small cutters.
6. Place in the fridge to set.
7. When solid, place hearts on top of each other and tie together with a red ribbon

NOTE: To make extra hearts for your chocolate box, simply melt more of your favourite type of chocolate and use a very small heart mould.