Getting Crafty for Valentine’s Day

Kids love craft time, and Valentine's Day delivers another fabulous reason to whip out the glue, scissors, and art supplies. For those of us who need a little creative inspiration, here are some ideas that will give you a jumpstart on getting crafty with your kids this Valentine’s Day! 

Quick and Easy Pop-Up Valentine's Day Cards

This simple idea for Pop-Up Valentine's Day cards will make a dynamic and sweet little gift for your little one to hand out to their classmates and friends for V-day! Share this project with them and they might even surprise you with a heartfelt creation.

What you will need:

1. Construction Paper
2. Pen
3. Scissors
4. Glue

Instructions:

1. Start by having your little ones choose the colors of construction paper they would like to use for the inside and outside of the card.
2. Help them fold a sheet of construction paper in half, evenly. 
3. Note that the sheets of construction paper can be cut down to a smaller size for a more compact card.
4. Draw two parallel lines, starting at the paper's fold, and in the center. 
5. Have your kids cut the paper, using the lines as a guide.
6. Help them fold the pop-up piece out, forming a little "chair" in the center of the paper. This part of the card will hold the message or graphic that your kids will make, cut out, and glue onto this piece. 
7. Glue another piece of colored construction paper to the back of the card to conceal the pop-up apparatus that you just built.

Valentine Mailbox

This fun and easy Valentine Mailbox craft will not only be a blast for your kids to make, but will also be very practical to neatly hold all the goodies your little one will receive for V-day!

What you will need: 

1. Construction paper
2. Tissue box or shoebox (with lid)
3. Glue
4. Scissors 

Instructions:

1. Help your kids cut a square out of on side of the shoebox (If you are using a tissue box, you can skip this step because the slot is already cut out for you). This will serve as the mailbox opening.
2. Wrap the box (and box top of the shoebox itself with your chosen color of construction paper. 
3. Use glue to adhere the paper onto the box.
4. Draw a pattern for your kids and have them cut it out. You can draw out hearts to glue onto the box or even draw out the parts to a fun animal like an alligator or shark to make things interesting. 
5. Have your kids glue the pieces in their desired places and voila – your kids have a custom made mailbox for Valentine cards! 

Ask your kids how they want to design their cards or mailbox. If you want to get even more creative, you can do a little research and show your kids examples to encourage them to think of different things that the cards can have inside of them, or what the mailbox could look like! These Valentine's Day crafts are a great way to get your whole family together for crafting fun!