How to Make Valentine's Day Cards

A great activity for children to participate in leading up to Valentine's Day is to make cards to give to their friends and classmates or family. Making the cards is simple and you'll only need a few basic tools and supplies, most of which you'll probably already have in a craft box or lying around the house. The only thing that the kids need to supply is the creativity.

Heart-Shaped Doily Valentine
Colored Construction Paper  Use this sturdy paper to act as the base for the card. It can be cut into a Valentine's Day inspired shape, such as a heart or cupid, or just be folded in half like a normal card.	Scissors  Most likely you'll have a pair at home, but if the child doing this project is very young, he or she may need safety scissors with blunt ends designed specifically for small, and sometimes clumsy hands.	Valentine's Day Stencils  These are perfect for drawing the template to cut. You may also opt to use cookie cutters  which serve the same purpose.	Glue  Elmer's Glue  is great if you want to create designs of glitter on the face of the card. Use a glue stick  instead if you would rather dust the card all over with a shiny glimmer. Use either type to glue lace  or feathers  to the card.	Doilies  Glue these over the top of a heart-shaped piece of construction paper to add depth. You can also cut up pieces to use as accents on other shapes.

Directions

1. Trace a heart onto red or pink construction paper using a stencil or heart shaped cookie cutter using a pen,  pencil,  or marker. 
2. Cut out the heart with the scissors.
3. Glue a heart shaped doilie on top of the heart cutout using a glue stick. You should verify ahead of time that the heart cut out will be big enough to fit the doily on top of it.
4. Using regular glue, make designs on top of the doily and sprinkle with gold or silver glitter and wait for it to dry.
5. Once you have finished the card and the glue has dried, use a felt tip pen to write a special message on the back of the card.

External Links

• Family Fun -- Lots of great ideas and instructions for making Valentine's Day cards.
• Enchanted Learning -- Easy cards for kids to make. There are also plenty of craft ideas that are also fun and entertaining.
• About.com -- A selection of kid's card ideas to try.
• Kids Domain -- Easy cards for young children to color after an adult prints the template.