Cheap and Free Valentine's Day cards, Crafts, and Gifts!

Pinwheel Valentines

Materials:

• Printable pdf (download here)
• Pencils
• Straight pins and beads with small holes

Directions:

1. Print pinwheel art pdf and cut out the square pinwheel piece and circle center piece. On the square pinwheel piece, cut corners along the dotted lines, stopping about 3/4” from center. Punch holes where noted.
2. Have your child address the “To” and “From.” (This is easier to do when the pinwheel is flat.)
3. Insert pin through one bead, and then through the hole in circle cutout.
4. With printed-side down, turn each pinwheel corner toward the center hole and one by one put pin through each of the four holes and then through the center hole.
5. Finally, add one more bead to the pin and insert it into the eraser. There should be enough space between the beads for the pinwheel to spin.

“Hoppy Valentine’s Day” Origami Frog Valentine

Materials

• Rectangle shaped colored paper
• Lollypop

Directions:

1. Make the frog by either watching our instructional video (below) or following the directions from PaperCrane.org:  http://www.papercrane.org/articles/abcTV/jumping-frog.gif
2. To add a treat, punch a hole in frog’s mouth and add lollypop. Amp up the fun factor by writing “Hoppy Valentine’s Day” on the frog’s back.
   
   

Hershey’s Kiss “Diamond” Ring

Materials:

• Original Hershey’s Kisses (in silver wrappers)
• Pipe cleaners

Directions:

1. Make an “x” with the two pieces of pipe cleaner and twist them together in the center
2. Place Hershey’s Kiss flat side down in center of “x”
3. Taking opposite sides of the “x” pipe cleaner, bring the sides to the point of the Kiss and twist to secure. Do the same thing with the other two sides. Now your “diamond” is in place.
4. To make the band, take two of the pipe cleaners and twist them together, same with the other two. Wrap the two sides around your child’s finger to fit, twist to secure and trim off ends. Make sure to crimp down the ends to they are not sharp.
5. Add a message by downloading our tags here—print, cut out, slip through the band and secure with tape on the back.

Cocoa Bath Mix

Even your rubber ducky will quack with delight when bathing in this silky and luxurious bath mix.  Marshmallows not included! 
 
Materials

• 2 cups powdered milk
• 1/4-cup cocoa
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients.
2. Pour mix into a recycled jar, cellophane bag, or an elegant (and acrylic) wineglass.
3. Create a cute label by hand or on the computer and secure with ribbon, raffia or a swatch of fabric, with directions: “Add 1 Tbs. of Cocoa Bath Mix to your bath”.

Homemade Play Dough with Action Figures

Play dough can be fun for children of all ages and is great for increasing hand strength which is vital when  it comes to writing in school! This Valentine’s Day, add pirates, treasure and intrigue to the mix with fun action figures, gold beads, and sparkling gems. 

Materials

• 1 Cup flour
• 1/2 Cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 Cup warm water
• Several drops of food coloring
• Airtight container such as Tupperware or Ziploc storage container
• Plastic action figures such as animals, insects or pirates, which are available at any party supply store or toy store

Directions

1. Stir first 5 ingredients in a pot over low heat, until thoroughly mixed.
2. Remove dough from heat and add a few drops of food coloring until desired color is achieved.
3. Knead dough until smooth.
4. Allow to cool and place in an airtight container

Add action figures for an adventure gift that is sure to delight.

Perhaps it’s the inner-magician in me, but I love to give something that looks like one thing but is really something else. That’s why I love this gift ... it looks like a lovely glass of bubble tea but is really a bubble treat for a relaxing and rejuvenating bath.

Battery Cake

A wonderful Valentine’s Day gift for the guy who loves his gadgets almost as much as his girl!  Now he’ll never wonder where the batteries are again!  Best of all, this cake is simple to make and does not require time in the kitchen.

Materials

• 10 C Batteries
• 14 AA batteries
• 16 AAA Double stick tape
• Ribbon (2 inch width works best)

Directions

1. To make layer 1: Bundle the C batteries into a round circle. Secure batteries with double stick tape. Wrap ribbon around the outside of the battery bundle.
2. To make layer 2: Repeat the same process as above, only this time use AA batteries.
3. To make layer 3: Repeat the same process, using AAA batteries.
4. Assemble the cake by carefully placing the layers on top of each other. Make sure layer 1, which is the largest layer, is on the bottom. Add a string of sequins, beads or peals pearls to the ribbon if desired. You may also choose to add a Phillips screwdriver “candle” on the top.

SUPER SAVER TIP: When making the battery cake — buy the batteries in bulk at a superstore warehouse or club. Most batteries have a 5-7 year shelf life so you can always use the remaining batteries at a later date.

Candy Wrapper Headband

(Thank you to Megan Hall and her blog, myplumpudding.blogspot.com for inspiring this idea.)
Another sweet craft that can be made with Valentine’s candy wrappers.

Materials

• Colorful candy or gum wrappers
• Scissors
• Double sided tape
• Clear packing tape
• Plastic Headband (available at most crafts stores)

Directions

1. Trim candy wrappers if desired.
2. Arrange the order and pattern of the wrappers and place them on your headband with double stick tape.
3. Cover headband with a layer of packing tape to ensure the wrappers are in place and sealed.