Valentine’s Day Crafts

These Valentine's Day crafts are not only great to do with your kids; they also make perfect Valentine's Day gifts for friends and family.

Easy Valentine's Cards

Materials:

• Heavy cardstock paper
• Tempera paints
• Sponge
• Scissors

Prepare the paper by slicing heavy cardstock into quarters, so that each piece yields 4 smaller cards.

Help your child cut heart shapes, in several sizes, out of sponges.

Next, dip sponge shapes into tempera paints and stamp heart images onto the cards.

When the paint is dry, use markers to address each card with the receiver's name and/or a message.

Valentine's Magnets

Materials:

• Crayola Model Magic
• Valentine's cookie cutters
• Small magnet discs

Roll out pieces of Crayola Model Magic about ½" thick.

Press out a base shape using Valentine's themed cookie cutters.

With the Model Magic still in the cookie cutter, gently press a small magnet disc into the back of each shape. Then remove it from the cookie cutter.

Next, turn the shape over and decorate it with more Model Magic. For example, add features to a cupid cutout or smaller hearts onto a larger heart cutout.

Lay model flat, magnet side down and leave it overnight to dry.

Heart Mobile

Materials:

• Fun foam
• Fishing wire
• Ribbon
• Heart-shaped beads
• Small knitting needle or skewer

Cut out 3 heart shapes from fun foam - 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small.

Cut out the inside of each heart, creating 3 heart-shaped outlines or "frames".

Use a small knitting needle (or skewer) to poke holes into the top of each heart.

Also poke a hole into the bottom of the largest heart.

Place the hearts one inside the other.

Using fishing wire, tie the top of the small heart to the top of the medium heart. Then tie the top of the medium heart to the top of the large heart.

Hang a heart-shaped bead inside the smallest heart.

Finally, thread a piece of ribbon through the top of the largest heart and use it to hang the mobile.

By Rochelle Strauss