Creative Valentine's Day for the Craft-Challenged

Well, this is becoming a series. As I said recently, I am not crafty. I appreciate those who are and, by the blessing of Pinterest, I can follow directions and do some of these things myself! Here is the simple Valentine's Day cards we made for James's grandparents and great-grandparents that I think is super-cute (and super-easy!)

Step 1: Find some Valentine's Day-appropriate construction paper. I guess thinner paper would do, but construction paper is nice and sturdy. We did ours with red paper, because that is what I found in our supply cabinet. Fold the paper in half.

Step 2: Hold your kid's hand on the paper so that the index finger and thumb are on the folded edge. Explain to them that they are going to make someone's day so much better as you do your best to trace their hand with a pencil. Don't hold on too tight - this is supposed to be fun. I imagine, if your child is older, they could do this him/her-self.

Don't worry about tracing the hand for each card. If you have a little one (like my 2 1/2 year old), send them on their way to play or, better yet, go play with them and do the rest later, when they're asleep.

Step 3: Cut out the hand you traced with the paper still folded, being careful not to severe the link connecting the index fingers and thumbs. This is where the heart will appear!

If you need to make more than 1 card (which I bet you do, since I went to the trouble of making one for myself), just trace this one. It's a lot easier than making your little one sit for many tracings. Again, if your child is older, they may actually enjoy doing the tracing themselves repeatedly.

Step 4: Write or draw something on the "front" of the card so that when the recipient sees it, they will orient it the correct way.

Step 5: Write something extra cute on the inside, where the heart appears.



I had sparkly foam heart stickers, but I really couldn't justify taking away from the beautiful heart that the hands make, so I didn't use them. I also wrote the year so that we could all be amazed at how small James's hands were back when. And there you have it - cute cards from your child to all their loved ones.

Hope your Valentine's Day was special! How did you share or show love?