Badge: Valentine Crafts

Crafts are a big part of Valentine’s Day. From cards to gifts to decorations, you can create many things to celebrate the holiday.

Steps

Basics

1. Hearts.

Hearts are the most used shape for this holiday. As you work through this badge program, keep a list of the crafts you’d like to do for Valentine’s Day. Be sure to include cards, decorations and small gifts. Also keep in mind that you can adapt other patterns by incorporating the heart shape . . . add these to your list as well.

2. Flowers.

You can also give an entire bouquet or a single flower, such as a full bloom rose. Flowers have different meanings, so explore what they are. You can make flowers, purchase flowers or use them as part of your craft designs. Keep notes for future reference.

3. Candy.

Another way to show you’re “sweet” on someone (yes, pun intended), is through candy. While purchasing candy is a large business, making your own can allow you to make a unique gift. This can be dipping strawberries in chocolate, creating flower blooms out of Hershey’s kisses or make your own unique confections. Check out a few videos and decide if you want to make your own candy.

4. Colors.

Pinks and reds are the predominant colors for Valentine’s Day. Just like incorporating hearts, changing the color to fit with the holiday helps you incorporate other designs. Keep this in mind as well as you explore crafts for the holiday.

Project Types

5. Cards.

You might want to create many Valentine’s Day cards for a group or classroom. You might want to make a special card for someone close to your heart. For group cards, you may want smaller, cheaper to create designs . . . perhaps more of an artist trading card size. You can even find printable cards online that make it easy to give cards to those you love. Explore the Web to find cards you’d like to create yourself or print and deliver. Make one or more.

6. Tags.

Don’t think of plain gift tags. You can make a tag with slots to insert pencils or suckers. Replace teabag tags with hearts and more. Look at things around you and see if you can find tags that you can replace to change it from ho-hum to holiday-fun.

7. Mailboxes.

Making “mailboxes” for the kids is a great way for them to collect their valentines. It can be an adjusted shoebox or a special container with a slot in it. Explore ways to make mailboxes out of cardstock or decorating an existing container for this purpose.

8. Bags.

Need a bag to collect Valentine’s or to wrap a gift? You can decorate blank bags with stamps or stencils. Drawstring bags are quick to make with festive fabric. Try to make a bag that can be used for cards and small gifts.

9. Garland.

Garlands, mobiles, window decals and more can be made from almost anything. Here are a few heart ideas . . . be sure to add your own.

Paper punched hearts
Tissue paper and contact paper hearts
Waxed paper and crayon hearts
Fabric hearts
Quilled or paper-strip hearts
Fun foam hearts

10. Jewelry.

Before going out to buy expensive jewelry, look at your own skills. Friendship bracelets can be a great attachment to a card. Heart rings or bracelets can be a single strand of wire. Charms or heart beads can be added to a piece of ribbon. Explore the ways you can create jewelry for this holiday.

11. Craft treats.

You can make anything reflect the holiday by changing the wrapping. For coffee cups, make a sleeve. For candy bars, make a replacement label. You can place toothpicks with special holiday notes into cupcakes. How else can you adjust a treat into a Valentine’s gift?

While candy was mentioned in Step 3, you can make other “treats” such as special soaps, bath scrubs and more. Brainstorm ways to make handmade items reflect the holidays.

12. Small gifts.

If you want to give a small gift, here are a few that fit our Valentine’s Day theme and are easy to make.

Bookmarks
Food cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter
Pencil toppers (hearts and pipe cleaners)
Shaped, multi-color crayons (recycled)
Keyrings

13. Your designs.

Take any of the ideas above or create your own unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Be sure to save the information so you can do it again or share it with others.

Supplements

SUPP_Valentine Crafts_2in_12up_larajla

Avery 2.5” round label printable, 12 up

SUPP_Valentine Crafts_Checklist_larajla

Badge checklist

SUPP_Valentine Shapes List_larajla

Shapes to keep in mind while designing for the holiday

SUPP_Valentine Word List_larajla

Words for using in your design s / creations for the holiday

Sites to Explore

Get the infographic here > larajla blog post

Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here > Full badge PDFs