Class Valentines
Ugh – right? I know plenty of people who roll their eyes at the “Pinterest moms” who do crafty things for their kids’ class valentines. I have a new appreciation for all of that now that I’m a mom.
But the fact is, I don’t do “Pinterest crafts” to outdo or impress anyone. When I have the time and inspiration, I like to do crafty things. I’ll reserve the rest of my thoughts on that for another day.
This post is ALL about those fun, crafty Valentines!
Homemade Valentines?!
I have made various things for the boys pre-school and now early elementary classes – all pretty darn easy. I’ve even made them for my friends’ kids to give, and have given the templates out for people to do themselves. It’s a great excuse to Zen out and do something creative.
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Easy Valentines to Make at Home
Here are 13 Easy Printable Valentines you can print at home. They are ALL valentines I’ve made the last few years for my boys to give!
They can be printed and used as is. Just add your little love’s name and send them in!
OR … Or you can fancy them up with some card stock and Dollar Store or Target $1 bin items.
There are even a couple of Valentines for teachers here as well. Some of them really do beg for a little something attached – but it’s really not necessary!
Read on for some ideas and to see some examples of what I’ve done. I’ve added links to various materials right in each one for ease.
General Materials Needed
There are some basic supplies that apply to all of these valentines.
At the very least you will need a color printer (I LOVE my color laser printer!), white cardstock, and some scissors or a paper cutter. I will say that I have a paper cutter and use it more than you’d think. If you think you’d use one for other things, you may want to get one too.
You may think about getting a pack of colored cardstock also – or at least a pack of red cardstock. Sometimes I like to layer my card on top of slightly larger colored cardstock to frame it.
And if I’m really ambitious, I might round the corners with a mini corner rounder. (Fancy! LOL)
If you are going to add something to the cards (crayons, bubbles, pencils, etc.) you will also need some sort of adhesive. I tend toward Glue Dots. Other materials and suggestions can be found below and links are also on the printables page!
Non-Candy Valentines with a Little Something Attached
These Valentines I attached something (Crayons, Finger Lights, Chapstick (or…chocolate lips for a candy version) Tiny Bubble Tubes, Glow Sticks):
A couple of Tips and Tricks:
Crayon instructions are below if you think you want to get crafty!
I used smoothie straws to protect glow stick bracelets on the wide “You light up my life” valentine. Worked GREAT!
Small Valentines
The Valentines below are smaller than the others I’ve done – about 2×3 inches. I also attached something to these (Stickers, Starbucks Card (teacher), Small Hand Sanitizer (teacher), Small Bubble Tube):
Valentines with no trinket but good practice writing names!
The following are the ones we did for the boys’ Kindergarten classes. They each told me what they wanted on their cards (Jake said jungle animals and Reid said a jet and a robot).
These are what I came up with.
I made them with white boxes and had the boys write their names. On ALL of them! Handwriting practice! We didn’t attach anything to these and they were perfect!
Valentine, You Color My World – How to make the multi-colored crayons
My first go at DIY Valentines for my boys to give classmates was their 3-year-old preschool class. I got it in my head to do the thing where you melt different crayons together to make a pretty new crayon in a heart shape.
I couldn’t find the heart candy mold I wanted, so I used squares, and they were adorable too.
In addition to the general materials mentioned above, you will need crayons in different colors, silicone candy molds, an oven-safe tray (to put the silicone mold on), and an oven.
Note: If you don’t want to make the crayons, some other ideas are to add a small pack of crayons or a little watercolor tray.
Honestly, the most tedious part of this little project was peeling the paper from the crayons. I later found out the trick is to soak the crayons in water. Then the paper comes right off.
This is what the process looked like – from going into the oven, coming out of the oven, cooled and then finished. Aren’t they pretty?!
I attached the crayons to the card with Glue Dots, and then I used a glue stick to attach the card to a slightly larger red background.
The crayons were the only thing I “made” for these. All other things I attached were bought at Target or the Dollar Store. Links to items are below, and are also at the bottom of the printables download page!
See lists below for supplies and ideas!
General Supplies White Cardstock Red Cardstock Glue Dots Double-Sided Tape Paper Cutter Corner Rounder Color Laser Printer (I LOVE mine!)
Color My World Crayons Heart Mold Square Mold Watercolors Crayon Packs
You Light Up My Life Finger Lights Glow Sticks Heart Candle (for teachers)
Read My Lips, I’m Yours Lip Balm Wax Candy Lips Chocolate Lips
You Make My Heart Pop Mini Bubbles B’loonies Balloons
Hope you and your kids love these!
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