Valentines Day Crafts Heart from Feet

Card stock
Marker
Glue
Plastic jewels

Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less
1. Trace your child's feet on colored card stock or heavy construction paper and cut out the shapes (use them as a template to make more cards).

2. Glue 2 feet at the heels to form a heart, as shown, and use a paint pen or marker to pen a message.

3. Glue flat-bottomed plastic jewels (available at craft stores) to the toes for polished nails.

Valentines Day Crafts Shovel of Love

Small bag of candy
Twist tie
Robbon
Toy sand shovel
Paint pen

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Close a small bag of candy with a twist tie. With a ribbon, tie it to the handle of a toy sand shovel. (We found a good selection of shovels at www.iparty.com for 40 cents apiece.)

2. Use a paint pen or permanent marker to write your message at the base of the shovel, just below the candy bag.

Valentines Day Crafts Class Gift Heart Charm

Colored pencils
Shrinkable Plastic sheet
Hole punch
Metal spatula
Card stock
Key chain
Scissors

Time needed: About 1 Hour
1. Following the directions on the package, use colored pencils to draw a design on a Shrinkable Plastic sheet ($5 for 10 sheets in craft stores). Cut it out. (Ours was about 3 inches wide before baking.)

2. Punch a 1/2-inch hole at the top (to do so, we made 4 slightly overlapping holes with a standard-size hole punch), as that will shrink too.

3. Bake as directed. If the charms curl, flatten them with a metal spatula as soon as you remove them from the oven; if necessary, reheat them briefly and flatten them again.

4. Write your message on a small piece of card stock, punch a hole in it, and thread it onto a key chain with your charm. (You can buy ball chain at hardware stores. Simply cut it into 4-inch lengths with old scissors and add connectors.)

Valentines Day Crafts Heart Cookie Cutter Grass Project

Heart-shaped cookie cutter
New sponge
Grass seed
Plant mister
Plastic wrap
Paper
Colored marker

Time needed: Weekend Project
1. Trace around a heart-shaped cookie cutter onto a new sponge, then cut out the shape. Rinse the sponge well to remove any pretreated disenfectant, then let dry.

2. Dampen the sponge slightly, then put it inside the cutter.

3. Sprinkle grass seed onto the sponge, spritz with a plant mister, then cover with plastic wrap. Place the heart on a saucer so dampness won't seep through.

4. Make a card with care directions using paper and a colored marker to attach to the plant. Remove plastic wrap when shoots appear. Spritz with water daily and mow as necessary.

Valentines Day Crafts Heart Glasses

Craft foam
Pen
Scissors
Pipe cleaners
Envelope

Time needed: About 1 Hour
1. Draw a heart on craft foam that's about 2 1/2 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches tall. Draw a second heart inside the first that's roughly 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches tall. Cut them both out. Then trace around the see-through heart to make another just like it.

2. Twist together 2 different-colored pipe cleaners, leaving about I inch untwisted at each end. Cut them in half with scissors (use old ones since pipe cleaners can dull the blades). Fold over the twisted ends and tuck in the sharp points so they aren't exposed, then bend those ends into curved earpieces.

3. Poke the other end of one of the pipe cleaners through the outside edge of one heart, about two thirds of the way up the side. Twist it around the other pipe cleaner, then wrap the ends back around the heart and tuck in the sharp tips. Repeat with the other pipe cleaner arm.

4. Add a nose bridge by poking a 3-inch section of pipe cleaner through the inside edge of each heart and twisting it back onto itself. The hearts should sit about 1/2 inch apart.

5. Make a case for the glasses by sealing a #10 business envelope (we used a translucent vellum one) and trimming about 3 inches from one end, rounding the corners. Write a message on a paper heart and glue it to the envelope.

Valentines Day Crafts Heart Necklace with Beads

20-gauge wire (available at bead stores)
Scissors
Pliers
Beads

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Snip a length of wire (a parent's job) and bend it into a V shape.

2. String on the beads (tape the wire's cut ends first to protect smaller children).

3. Finish by bending the beaded wire into a heart, then twisting the ends together with the pliers.