Heart of the Matter: 13 heart-y crafts for Valentine's Day

It's coming!  Two weeks from today we'll be "celebrating" the made-up Hallmark holiday of Valentine's Day. 

I have nothing against Valentine's Day.  I mean, it's a good thing, to remind people to say "I love you," but I feel so sad for anyone who has to wait all year to hear that they're loved. 

Every day is a good day to tell someone you love them.

However, I love a good excuse to make cute crafts and cute food, so bring it on!  Here, for your crafting pleasure, are 13 fun heart themed crafts.  But don't wait 'til Valentine's Day.  Every day is a good day to make a heart craft, too.  For instructions, just click on the word "source" under the pictures.

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This is one of my favorite messy crafts!  It just turned out so shiny and beautiful--the picture does not do it justice--and each one is unique.

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Love these simple heart ornaments made from cinnamon and apple sauce! 

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Aren't these window clings sweet?

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I love that this heart tote bag is easy enough for a preschooler to make but sophisticated enough for a mama to carry.

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Look at these gorgeous heart-painted rocks!  Now normally I would look at that and say, "no way would mine turn out that beautifully."  But look--it's not hard.  All it is is hearts and polka dots.  You can totally do that!



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I love this wall hanging made from small cross sections of branches.  Must. Make. (In all my spare time...)

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Here's another easy enough-for-a-preschooler-to-make project that is still lovely enough to make a part of your year-round décor.  Love it.

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Here's a craft to help develop fine motor skills (in other words, if you want to keep your little ones busy for long periods of time, try this).  Just wrap yarn, string, or embroidery floss around and around and around a cardboard or tagboard heart.  Glued to cardstock, these would make great school Valentine's cards.

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What an adorable heart garland.  Whip one up in minutes and hang several in a doorway.

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Here's another fun heart paper-craft/magic trick (how do they get those hearts linked?  The world may never know...unless it clicks on that link up there...)



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I wouldn't mind having a few of these whimsical heart-shaped bookmarks made from paperclips.  I found some metallic pink paperclips at the Dollar Tree that will work perfectly for this.


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Who knew shrinky dinks could be so beautiful!  I love the versatility of shrinky dinks--you can make them as intricate or as simple as you wish, and they can be enjoyed by adults and children.  You can make a gorgeous charm bracelet like this, or just a single heart on a piece of yarn for a necklace.  To learn how to make shrinky dinks using a material you probably have around the house, click here.



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What a fun way to greet guests, with this wooden heart wreath.  Just paint and decorate wooden heart cut-outs from the craft store, then glue them to a cardboard wreath-form cut from a cereal box.


Happy Valentine's crafting, my friends!