by Sherri Osborn

Here are some ideas for home-made Valentine's Day cards shared by visitors to the Family Crafts site and forum. You can share you ideas too; either use this simple form or post it in the forum for all to enjoy.

1. From Ruth: Balloon cards - this one is pretty neat. You buy a bunch of pink and red balloons - the children place a Valentine in the balloon and then blow it up, tie it, and add a ribbon. The recipient must pop the balloon in order to get their valentine. To get the card inside the balloon, I just rolled the valentine into a tube slipped it right into the balloon. I then blew it up... worked great! It also works for presents - I have given a bouquet of balloons with gift certificates to the movies or for movie rentals in them.

2. From H. Marie: I did a white heart shaped construction paper cut-out with decorative edged scissors, put children's name on it with permanent markers, pop one at a time in a salad spinner, gave the child a choice of white, fushia, purple, or red paint, or all, or two, three... dropped some on the top of the heart, put on the lid, let them spin and lastly they shook on pink glitter. When dry they picked out a complementary color and cut out a bigger heart to back it with... also using the decorative edged scissors. Lastly I glued on a picture of them in the middle.

3. From KEMEGUMM: On a large poster board, make a special message for your loved one. First, write this message. Note: every word that is in quotes is a candy bar. For each word in quotes, attach the candy bar mentioned. Here goes:
   My dearest "sugar bear",
   Happy Valentine's Day. May this note bring you a "snicker" as you read my message. It will not make you "chunky". And I am not playing "twix" on you. You are my "bit o honey" "bar none". Our "Good-n-Plenty" life together is like a "symphony" or shopping on "5th avenue" on "payday". I wish you "mounds" of "almond joy" on this Valentine's Day.
   "Hugs and Kisses" for "now and later"

4. From Ruth: Valentine animals - Turn hearts into mice, bears, even elephants and add a cute saying... such as with the bear you could write "can't BEAR to be without you Valentine". Have the children come up with their own sayings that match the animal that they created.

If you want more Valentine's Day activites and crafts, check out my Valentine's Day Family Projects section. It includes ideas for gifts, related coloring pages, and many more creative projects.