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I love to let Little experiment with arts & crafts projects around here. He’s really into coloring, painting, and stickers and so I knew that I wanted to do a Valentine’s Day themed craft with him. Valentine’s is one of my favorite holidays I wanted to do something fun. And then, because I cannot help myself, I decided that I would make our crafting into a whole event and invite over some other mom friends and their kids to join in on the fun. And just like that the play date was on the calendar.
I really enjoy hosting people at our home and I have been wanting to have people over during the week so this was the perfect opportunity. Last year, I discovered a great way for me to organize and plan for impromptu parties like this (which I’ll share in a separate post) that allow me to put these events together quickly and without too much stress. For our playdate, we had 4 other moms and 5 other toddlers so six kids in all.
I had several foam heart stickers stashed in my craft closet and used a plastic tray for holding all of our supplies. The Valentine’s stickers were from Michael’s the week before Valentine’s Day. They were just $1 for a little book of stickers and they were on sale for 40% off. Naturally, I grabbed them and am excited to have them on hand for next year’s crafts as well. I also cut everything before kids arriving because I do not want anyone running around here with scissors. Here was our set up at our kitchen table:
I planned to make tissue paper hearts with the youngest kids (less than 2) and had love bugs prepared for the older kids with toilet paper rolls (see the sweet little love bug in the background here?).
The older kids made the love bugs with some help and then took their turns making tissue paper hearts. These were a BIG hit. And really, so much fun and so simple to create.
Toddler & Preschool Valentine’s Day Craft
I got the original idea for these hearts from Pinterest and a fun blog, Happiness is Homemade here.
Supplies
2. Red construction paper
3. Scissors
4. Tissue Paper
Directions
To make it easier, I recommend doing steps 1-4 ahead of time.
1. Fold construction paper in half and cut a big heart shape.
2. Cut a smaller heart out of the first to make the frame. (save the heart for future craft projects, if you’re like me)
3. Cut or tear tissue paper into small pieces for little hands to easily grab.
4. Stick the heart outline to the contact paper.
5. Stick tissue paper as you like.
6. Place a separate piece of contact paper on top to seal and trim away the excess.
The kids had a blast with these and Little is so proud when he sees his heart displayed in our window.
We’ve been using it as a way to practice naming colors around here.
Another perk, cleanup was a breeze. No glue. Paper gets swept right up. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
What kinds of projects do you like to do with your kids this time of year?
So sweet for you to host a group of moms and their kids! This is a super cute activity. I’m sure the kid’s love seeing their artwork displayed on the window. 🙂 Thank you for sharing with us at #LiveLifeWell
Thanks! They definitely do enjoy seeing their crafts displayed & to be honest, I enjoy it, too!!
I love this! Tissue paper crafts are so fun and easy to do… although I hate all the tiny scraps afterwards, lol. But seriously, I think I’ll need to do this with the kiddos!
That’s what I love about the contact paper. I feel like it cuts down a little bit on the mess! But you are right, sometimes those little scraps can be tough with tissue paper crafts for kids!
My girls will LOVE this . Here’s hoping I can get my act together early enough to make it happen before valentine’s day! actually…i’m sure i have everything i need here, so we just need to do it!
Girl, same! I’m making some lists right now of things I need to get together before Valentine’s day so we can have some fun around here this year! <3
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome idea! I am in charge of crafts for my son’s preschool Valentine’s Day party and this is perfect because of it being glue free and paint free! The kids can take them home that same day without worrying about it making it there because something isn’t dry enough.
Yes!!! This is perfect for a classroom project!
What a sweet project for the little ones Mary Leigh. Thank you for sharing it at Create, Bake, Grow and Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at tonight’s party and pinning too.
Thank you so much!! I appreciate you sharing!!
I used to love tissue paper crafts as a kid then again when I had kids. Now I will save this idea for the future.
They are so fun and versatile! I keep a gallon sized ziploc of tissue paper just for projects like this! It’s good to have it on hand already.
So fun! My 6 year old is sitting here in the office with me and saw this project – it has her stamp of approval and she wants to make it “RIGHT NOW”. haha!
Oh fun!! Let me know how it goes!
I remember my older kids coming home from daycare with those. They’re so cute, I should definitely make some with the 2-year-old. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
These are so cute! We did something similar when my kids were little and I forgot how cute and fun they are! Great craft for little ones!
Thank you! We love them around here!
Love this! I really admire all the stuff you come up with. Think my eldest would love this. Thanks for sharing with #bloggersbest x
My daughter would love this. She’s seven but anything even remotely crafty interests her, so I’ll see if she wants to give it a try. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party this week. Pinned!
Oh, I bet she would like it! You’ll have to let me know if you try it out!
Cute crafts for little hands! Thanks for sharing it on the Virtual Fridge!
Thanks!! We have fun with this project!
These are so cute!! They’re such great DIY decorations for a college student like myself who can’t afford a bunch of fancy expensive decor. This would be perfect for children to make too! Thanks for the idea!
I will be sharing this with my daughter’s preschool teacher. This would be a great activity for them as part of the Valentine’s party this year.
Thanks!! It’s a great classroom activity!
this is so cute! I would love to do this with my kids one day! and its so simple to do
Exactly!! We’ve made them for several seasons, too!!
So cute! They’re like little stained glass windows. I’ll have to save this for later when my baby’s a bit older.
Yes! They are just like little stained glass windows!
We used to make these all the time! I love non- messy crafts like this.
Right?! I am all about simple and easy clean up over here.
I like doing activities with tissue paper, but my kids always get burnt out early on for some reason when we try to make these. It’s been awhile, though, so maybe we’ll try these hearts out when it gets closer to Valentine’s Day. 🙂 Visiting from the Mommy Moments link up.
We take a break sometimes rather than finishing the craft in one sitting which helps, I think!
Love this! We have done this for easter with egg shapes, and made fish shapes too. they look fantastic displayed on the windows 🙂 #openslather
Yes! I love just how versatile this project is!
Oooh we did these one year for our Girl Scout troop and had so much fun! I may need to bring the idea back again this year . . .
It’s so fun!! Definitely bring it back!!
Aww so cute! That’s a great craft for little ones and I like that you had another craft for the older kids 🙂
Thank you – I just wanted to be sure everyone had something fun to do! Of course, they all loved the tissue paper craft though!
Crafting with kids is so fun! I am saving up all the crafty posts for when my baby nephew is old enough to play 🙂
It really is fun and they are usually so proud of the things they create, which always makes me really proud and happy!
Thanks! The kids really loved working on their crafts! It's fun to watch them be creative!
Thanks so much!
Oh fun! I try to stay organized with things like this. Some days are definitely better than others though! I try to do my best and give myself a little grace when things don't go as planned!
We did this with our boys this week. They love crafts. You sound super organised x
Love this idea so much!! Thanks for sharing & linking up! Xo
these are not only brill but such a fab way to entertain the kids. I also cannot believe how fast the year is going!! Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x
Thank you! We had fun!
It was so easy! The original idea also used glitter (but I wasn't really trying to clean that up afterwards, so we skipped it!), but we used stickers, too! The kids loved it!
Ah this is a lovely idea! #Bestandworst
This is so cute! We're having a crafty Valentine's party next week with lots of toddlers, so I LOVE this idea!