Hearts for Heroes

Yesterday the kids finger-painted some big sheets of paper and today we cut hearts out to hang in all our windows as a way to say THANK YOU to all the heroes out there - especially medical personnel, but also mail/package carriers, truck drivers, and our neighbors and community that are staying home.

Hearts for Heroes

I hope everyone can find some small way to help spread some hope and gratitude in your neighborhoods too. Thank you all!

Hearts for Heroes
Hearts for Heroes


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DIY Valentine Postcards - Perfect Project for Toddlers and Kids!

Last year I started the tradition of having our little one make Valentines for close family and friends.  This year I wanted to continue the tradition but find a way to make them as inexpensive as possible, and so I settled on the idea of DIY Valentine Postcards.  
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Valentine DIY postcard

Materials:

  • non-glossy poster board

  • finger paint

  • toilet paper tubes

  • tape

  • ruler

  • scissors

  • sharpie marker

  • paper cutter (optional)

  • postage stamps for postcards

How-to:  

One of the reasons I decided to make postcards this year instead of traditional cards was, not only are postcards cuter, they cost almost 30% less to mail than a traditional card - these postage savings add up!  As a result, this project cost next to nothing to do.  I already had the paint, toilet paper rolls, rulers, etc. - I just had to run down to the local store and pick up a piece of poster board which cost a whopping 99 cents.  

The simple supplies

The simple supplies

The how-to is pretty straight forward: use a ruler to measure and cut out your postcards (I made mine 4x5.5", but you can check here for more details on postcard requirements).  If you have a paper cutter that can come in quite handy to make quick work of cutting them out.  

Posterboard

Next use a ruler and a sharpie to create the back of the postcard, one line down the middle and then three lines on the right hand side for the address.  

DIY Postcards and supplies

Next let your toddler go to town!  I put down one card at a time to keep the backs clean from paint as well as to keep them from getting over-saturated.  To make the heart "stamp" I used toilet paper tubes bent into a heart shape and held together with tape.     

Toddler art; toddler stamping hearts for Valentine's Day

Once the cards were done I let our little one go crazy on the table covering.  

Red Valentine toddler finger painting art

The cards drying - they came out pretty great!!  

DIY toddler Valentine postcards

I kept the backs very basic with a simple handwritten message and a little heart stamp.  

DIY Valentine postcards by toddlers

I hope you enjoyed this little Valentine DIY!  It was very quick and easy and the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you want to paint, color, or draw the front of the postcard.  

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Check out our other Valentine's Posts:  

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Toddler Art Valentine's Cards

We decided to try our hand at making our own toddler art Valentine cards to send to family and friends - it was so easy and a lot of fun!  
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Toddler Art Valentine's Cards; toddler activity / project

Materials:

Finger painting for Valentine Cards

How-to:

For our little one to make her art, I taped some big sheets of finger painting paper to our kitchen floor and let her go to town!  This was also her first painting experience, and it's safe to say that she really enjoyed it... though I think she may have been just as interested in trying to pull the tape off the floor.  

Even though I was an art education major, I'd never used special paper for finger painting and I was a bit skeptical at first.  The paper touts being "glossy and non-absorbent" and I wasn't sure how the paint would stay on the paper or if it would dry well.  Nevertheless, it worked great!  The non-absorbency and glossiness is perfect for finger painting - a little paint goes a long way since it isn't absorbed into the paper and the smooth glossy surface makes it easy for little fingers to move the paint around.  Drying time was pretty fast too and the paint stayed well on the paper, no flaking or peeling.  

Heart-shaped cookie cutter to trace

Once the paintings were dry, I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to trace out the hearts and cut them out.  

Finished Toddler Art Valentine - simple, easy, beautiful, and fun!

I glued the hearts onto a folded piece of white stationery from C.R. Gibson, then added a little handwritten note inside and they were done.  Now to mail them off to family and friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Check out our other Valentine's posts:  

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