Valentine's Day Art Project

Enjoying Valentine’s Day Art Projects with Your Children

If this is your first time enjoying Valentine’s Day art projects with your children, keep the following tips in mind to help ensure a successful crafting experience:

• Consider your child’s interests. Does your son like to draw? Does your daughter like to string beads? Choose a project that meets these preferences.
• Plan ahead. Read the directions and gather all the necessary supplies for your project before you begin. Children are notorious for their short attention spans. If you have to stop the project to find a red crayon, your young crafter may simply wonder off to another activity.
• Put safety first. Be sure to provide close supervision to children working with scissors, glue, small beads, or other potentially dangerous items. If you have more than one child at home, make sure your older child understands the importance of helping to keep hazards away from his or her sibling.
• Resist the urge to micromanage. Craft projects provide a great opportunity for kids to express their creativity while working to develop new skills. Even if your child doesn’t follow the project’s directions exactly, respect his or her desire for independence and individuality.
• Take plenty of pictures! Crafting with your children is just as much about the process as it is about the end result. Keep your camera handy to snap lots of photos of this fun occasion.

Make a Special Card

Valentine’s Day provides a great opportunity to introduce children to the basics of card making. While it’s easy to find preprinted Valentine’s Day cards at almost any retail store, making a one-of-a-kind card will provide your child with a great sense of accomplishment. Here are some ideas:

• Heart in Hand Card: Add a special message to your child’s handprint.
• Finger Paint Valentine: Cut hearts from finger painted masterpieces to add style to any greeting.
• Shiny Heart Card: Use aluminum foil to create a card that sparkles.
• Pop-Up Heart Garden: While this card is probably too complicated for preschoolers, older children will love the added dimension in this project.
• Stained Glass Hearts: Crayon hearts drawn on waxed paper add an elegant look to this handmade Valentine.
• Crayon Hearts: While this project is a bit more time-consuming than making a traditional greeting card, these pretty yet practical Valentines are guaranteed to be a hit with your child’s classmates.

Design Unique Wall Art

Kids who love to see their creations proudly displayed will find many great Valentine’s Day art project ideas for designing unique wall décor. Possibilities include:

• Valentine Heart Wreath: Create a simple wreath from construction paper hearts and a paper plate.
• Tubular Frame: Display a cherished photo or a favorite drawing in this decorative frame.
• Thumbtack Valentine Frames: Kids can make several of these whimsical frames to create an entire wall filled with Valentine artwork.
• Heart Art: This hip looking piece of wall art is particularly fun for young boys to make because it’s not as “frilly” as other Valentine projects.

Decorate a Keepsake Box

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love and friendship, so a special keepsake box is a great choice for your child’s holiday craft project. For example:

• Valentine’s Heart Box: Kids can go wild painting fun and funky designs on these heart-shaped boxes.
• Sweet Nothing Box: This easy and inexpensive craft has many potential variations.

If your child is making the keepsake box to present as a gift, consider adding a selection of special homemade chocolate treats. The following recipes are great for young cooks to make with adult supervision:

• Quadruple Fudge Brownies
• Peanut Butter Kisses
• Chocolate Chip Kisses
• Chocolate Covered Cranberries