Valentine's Day Crafts

For Toddlers and Preschoolers:

VALENTINE PLACEMATS

Materials:

• Roll of clear contact paper, 12 inches wide
• Photos, love notes, paper hearts, drawings, ribbon
• Scissors
• Duct tape or other strong tape

Instructions:

1. Collect or make the objects you want to use in your placemat. Do not use anything that you think you will want back later. Once it is in the placemat, it will be there for good. Also, use only flat items; items that are too thick may prevent the contact paper from sticking together.
2. Cut off 2 sheets of contact paper about 18 inches long. If the roll is wider than 12 inches, cut it to 12 or 13 inches.
3. Lay one of the pieces sticky side up on your work table.
4. As you remove the paper backing, the sheet may begin to curl back up. Taping the edges and corners to the worktable as you remove the paper will keep it firmly in place.
5. Place the drawings, notes, and pictures face up on the sticky contact paper. NOTE: You must leave some blank spaces between the items so the contact paper can stick to itself. If you don’t do this, the two sheets may not stick together well enough.
6. When you are finished placing all the items,  put the top piece of contact paper on, sticky side down.
7. This step is a little tricky, so be carfeul. Remove the paper backing on one end only. Hold it over the sheet on the table, and make sure at least one edge is lined up. Place it down gently, then smooth it down firmly.
8. Now remove the rest of the paper backing slowly, continuing to press firmly on the parts that are stuck. When finished, smooth out the entire placemat firmly.
9. Trim the border with scissors so the edges are even.
10. Place the mat at your valentine’s seat at the table.

For Grade-Schoolers:

BOTTLECAP LOCKETS

Materials:

• 2 bottle caps 
• Decoration for the bottlecap (I used glitter, but fabric also works nicely)
• 2-inch piece of ribbon, 1/4-inch wide
• 18 inches of thin ribbon or string
• Elmer’s glue
• Small paintbrush
• Rough sandpaper
• Small photo of your grandchild (where the face is only 1-inch wide)
• Paper
• Marker or crayon
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Tear a piece of sandpaper and use it to rough up both the outside and inside of the bottle caps as best you can. This is to give the glue a “tooth” to hold onto.
2. Use the paintbrush to paint a thin layer of glue onto each of the ends of the 2-inch ribbon, to about 1/2 inch (do not put glue in the middle). With the bottle caps closed together like a clamshell, place the piece of ribbon evenly on the outside of the caps in a U shape. The ribbon will act as the "hinge."
3. Let the glue dry. Rinse out the paintbrush.
4. Decorate the outside of the bottle caps. Paint a thin layer of glue onto each surface. Sprinkle glitter or place fabric onto the surfaces.
5. Let the glue dry. Rinse out the paintbrush.
6. If you used glitter, once it is dry, paint a thin layer of glue on top of the glitter. It will dry clear. This is to keep the glitter from "shedding" all over the person who wears the locket. If you used fabric, continue to the next step.
7. Cut the face out of the photo you selected so it is a circle, 1-inch wide.
8. Write a teeny-tiny note to the person the locket is for, on another 1 inch circle of paper. It can simply say, "I Love You!"
9. Open up the dry bottle caps and lay them flat, so the two insides are facing up.
10. Glue the picture in the bottom half, and the note in the top. Let dry.
11. With the locket closed, slide the 18-inch piece of ribbon through the loop of unglued ribbon at the top (the "hinge").
12. Tie the ends of the long ribbon in a bow, and you have a custom-made bottlecap locket, ready to slip over your valentine’s head.

For Older Grandchildren:

HANDMADE ROSES

Materials:

• Package of red tissue paper
• Other red paper, fabric or plastic (optional)
• Straight, thin sticks or dowels (for the stems)
• Scissors
• Clear tape
• Vase

Instructions:

1. Cut the tissue paper, or other paper, fabric or plastic into long strips, between 2 and 3 inches wide, and 12 to 18 inches long.
2. Put the strips into piles of three or four.
3. Take one pile and loosely roll it up as you would a roll of string.
4. When the pile is rolled, take a stick or dowel, and place it about an inch inside one end of the rolled paper.
5. Pinch the end with the stick together (a combination of pinching, folding, and twisting works well).
6. Take a piece of clear tape (about 3 inches long) and wrap it very tightly around the pinched end. This should be tight enough to hold both the paper and stick in place.
7. The other end of the paper roll most likely has a cone shape, where the center is longer than the outside layers. Take your scissors and cut the paper straight across, so all the layers are even.
8. "Fluff” your rose a bit — if your pinching folded it to much, stick your finger inside the paper and wiggle it around, puffing it up a little.
9. Put this rose in the vase, and repeat steps 1 through 8 until you have a full vase of roses.
10. Cut your sticks or dowels different lengths to make a fuller looking arrangement. Also vary the tightness of your rolls. This will make slightly different-sized roses for a more natural look.
11. Place the full vase on a table for the perfect Valentine’s Day decor.

We have even more Valentine's Day craft projects and fun bird crafts to keep you and your hands-on grandchildren busy.