How to Make Valentine's Day Crafts

Valentine's Day is a great time to work on handmade crafts with your children. They can give their finished creations to classmates for gift exchanges or send them to their relatives far away. This easy to follow do it yourself page will teach you how to make Valentine's Day crafts that are fun and entertaining to make for children of various ages.

This article demonstrates how to make a pop up card, hanging heart mobile and decorative candy bag. These projects are suitable for any crafting skill level. However, parental involvement is needed for the drilling and rotary cutter. It should take no longer than 45 minutes to complete the hanging mobile or candy bag. The pop up card should take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to finish. Along with general crafting, the candy bag requires a basic knowledge of sewing and beading to make it effectively.

If you are creating gifts for a child's Valentine's Day party at school, be sure to make a gift exchange list for your child's friends. Once you know how many projects that you need to make, set up an assembly line so that you can expedite the process of constructing several of the same craft. For example, you can cut out all the heart shapes for a Valentine's Day pop up card while your child glues the pieces to the cards. Make sure to line up all the needed decorations and supplies so that every thing is ready and available to put the gifts together fast. This will keep the project fun and lessen the chance of chaos and a messy craft environment.

Hanging mobiles, created by the artist Alexander Calder,http://www.calder.org/ make visually interesting gifts that last longer than the usual card or candy crafts.

• Supplies:
• (2) 12 inch wood craft dowels at least a fourth inch thick
• Rotary tool with drill and cutter bits
• Ceiling hook
• Fishing line
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Vise
• Safety goggles
• Sandpaper
• Red polymer clay
• Rolling pin
• Heart shaped cookie cutter
• Sparkly beads

• Directions:

1. Using your pencil, mark the halfway point on one of your dowels. Secure the dowel in a vise. Before doing any cutting or drilling, wear the goggles. This will protect your eyes just in case of wood splintering.
2. Now, cut along the drawn line carefully.
3. Sand down the cut edges until they are smooth to the touch. To go a step further, you can round the edges on all the dowels for a more finished appearance.
4. Measure a half inch in from each edge of all three dowels and make a mark with your pencil. Take the two cut pieces and stack them together. Mark the midpoint.
5. Clamp the dowels in the vise one by one and drill holes at the mark points.
6. Attach one short dowel to the left side of the large one with a 3 inch length of fishing line. Hang the other short dowel from the right side of the long dowel with a 7 inch length of fishing line.
7. Set the dowels to the side while you make the hearts.
8. Roll the clay in your hands back and forth until it softens enough to make a ball.
9. Place the ball on a hard surface (not used for food) and use the rolling pin to evenly flatten out the clay. Aim for a fourth to an eighth of an inch thickness.
10. Using the cookie cutter, cut six hearts out of the clay.
11. Push the beads and sequins into the front surface of the clay.
12. Poke a hole in the hearts near the top for hanging. Use anything sharp such as an awl or pencil.
13. Place the hearts on a cookie sheet (not used for food) then bake according to the instructions on the polymer clay package.
14. Place a heart on each end of the short dowels with 2 inch long pieces of fishing line. Attach the last two hearts to the middle of each of the short dowels with 4 inch lengths of fishing line.
15. Use the hook to hang your finished mobile.

Often people exchange cards on Valentine's day. However, you can make yours stand out by creating a pop up card.

• Supplies:
• White construction paper
• Red construction paper
• Pink construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Ruler
• Markers
• Pink and red 3D glitter paints

• Directions:
• Fold both sheets of red construction paper in half lengthwise. Set one paper aside. It will be referred to as the background sheet.
• Along the folded edge of the other paper, measure 3 1/2 inches from each corner and mark the two points.
• Draw a 1 inch line up from the fold on both points. (Refer to the diagram.)
• Cut along the lines that you just made. Set the paper aside.
• Print the heart patterns on the red and pink papers.
• Now, you will cut the heart images out.
• Decorate them with glitter paints and markers.
• Let them dry completely.
• Fold the cut out section of the card construction paper inward. (Refer to the diagram.)
• Glue your background sheet to the back of it.
• Flatten the closed card to get out any air bubbles. Clean off any excess glue and re-open.
• Decorate the inside and outside of the card with your Valentine's Day message.
• Finally, glue the largest heart to the pop up flap on the inside.
• Glue the smaller hearts on the side of the main heart.
• Make sure that all is totally dry before closing or moving the card.

Candy is another popular Valentine's Day gift for adults and children. Add a special touch to your candy treat by putting it in a simple to construct handmade bag that sparkles with beads and sequins.

• Supplies:
• Fat quarter of Valentine's Day themed fabric
• Fat quarter of fabric in contrasting color for lining
• 12 inch decorative cord
• Red card stock
• Transfer paper
• Sewing needle
• Matching thread
• Scissors
• Beading thread
• Beading needle
• Straight pins
• A bag of red 5mm sequins
• A bag of red rocaille beads size 12/0
• Valentine's Day candy

• Directions:

1. Fold both fabrics in half and stack them together.
2. Using transfer paper, trace the provided pattern on the wrong side of your fabric.
3. Draw a 1/4 inch hem around the shape.
4. With the whole stack in hand, cut out the bag shape. Now, you will have two pieces of your main fabric and two pieces of your lining.
5. To make side A, take one of the main and liner fabrics and place them right sides together.
6. Make a straight stitch across the top hemline.
7. Now, fold it wrong sides together and iron.
8. Repeat the above steps with the other two pieces of cloth to make side B.
9. Place the two halves together with the main fabrics touching.
10. Straight stitch along the whole shape to close it leaving the top of the bag open.
11. Turn the pouch right side out.

• Beading:

1. Trace the decorative heart pattern onto the front of the bag with transfer paper.
2. Cut a 24 inch length of thread, place it in the needle and knot the end.
3. Starting from the wrong side of the fabric, pull the needle through at the end of one of your pattern lines.
4. Place four beads on the thread and slide them to the surface of the material.
5. Pull the needle through the right side of the fabric then push it back through the wrong side between the second and third bead.
6. Now, take the needle back through the third and fourth bead heading in the direction of your pattern line.
7. Repeat this process over the outlines of your patterns.
8. To add more sparkle, add sequins along the inside edges. To hold it in place, thread the sequin first then add a rocaille bead. Push the needle back through the same sequins while piercing the fabric. Now, the sequin is secure. Just carry the thread across the wrong side of the fabric as you add more sequins and beads.
9. Once you are done, fill the bag with treats.
10. Tie the cord around the bag to close it.