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Cards with Real Heart: Recycled-Materials Valentines Little Hands Can Make

overhead of materials for heart cards

Break out the red glitter! Valentine's Day is here! Whether you need dozens of valentines for a kindergarten class or something special for the grandparents, homemade cards are the way to go.

These simple kid friendly craft ideas will make your Valentine's Day cards truly one-of-a-kind. So go ahead, get creative, get a little messy, and feel the love!

painted hearts clipped to a line

1)     Painted Newspaper Hearts

Recycled hearts are true works of art with this easy craft perfect for the tiniest artists in your house!

What you’ll need:

  • Newspaper
  • Watercolor
  • Brushes or eye-droppers

How To make them:

  1. Decorate newspaper with watercolor paint.
  2. Hang the newspaper up to dry.
  3. Glue heart shapes onto construction paper... that's it. Easy-peasy.

closeup of card with heart paint and brush in background

2)     Tie-Dye Coffee Filter Hearts

To create this simple, colorful craft, cut a heart out of a white coffee filter and have you child draw and scribble with pink and red markers (or any color that moves you). Using a straw or a dropper, help your child drip water onto the coffee filter to let the marker colors bleed into a tie-dye effect.

water smudged hearts closeup

What you’ll need:

  • Coffee filters
  • Markers
  • Water

How to make them:

  1. Fold the coffee filter in half.
  2. Draw half of a heart shape and cut out.
  3. Using markers, doodle a design on the heart-shaped coffee filter.
  4. Using a straw or eyedropper, drip water onto the coffee filter. The colors will bleed and spread in a tie-die pattern.
  5. Hang and let dry.
  6. Glue the heart onto construction paper for a card or use for decoration!
heart cards hung up on a line
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