More heart-y crafts

 And oldie but goodie.  Invite your kids to use a table knife to make crayon shavings onto a piece of wax paper.  Put another sheet of wax paper on top, then use an iron on the lowest setting to melt the crayon wax and the wax paper together.  Cut into a heart or other shape and display on a window to catch the light. 

Tip: darker colors tend to look murky when melted, so stay away from dark blue, purple, brown, gray and black.

Warning: this next one is not for the faint of heart!  There is huge potential for messiness, especially if you've lost your hair binder :)

Cut a piece of sturdy paper into a square--ours is 9 inches.  We used canvas paper left over from another project, but you could use posterboard, cereal box cardboard, or even cardstock.

Place several quarter-sized puddles of light corn syrup on your paper. Start with 4 blobs in the corners. Squirt 1 or 2 drops of food coloring onto each syrup puddle. Use only one color per puddle and 2 or 3 colors total.

Next, swirl the color around the page until its completely covered.  We started out using popcicle sticks for this, but it quickly degenerated into finger painting, which is great for developing fine motor skills and sensory integration.  Add more puddles to bare spots if you need more paint.

Allow the corn syrup to dry--this could take a day or more, but it will dry shiny and beautifully marbled.

Cut a piece of construction paper the same size as your painting, fold it in half and cut out a heart shape.  Then glue the construction paper frame on top of the painting.

I was really worried about this project--it was touch and go for a while, and it wasn't looking too good (imagine all of the places that colored corn syrup could show up if you let a 4 year old play with it)--but I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I love it!

This would be great in the fall with a leaf cut-out shape, or in winter with a snowflake or snowman.  You could do a shamrock for St. Pat's Day...well, you get the idea, I'm sure!