Silly Heart Characters

When you are stuck inside with little ones, crafting is one way to keep them occupied in a good way.  With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s the perfect time for some heart crafts.

I decided our Heart Animals needed some friends, and so today we made these Silly Heart Characters:

(I have to give credit where credit is due, these are inspired by some silly heart people pictures I’ve seen a friend of mine draw; in fact, my daughter started drawing them, too!)

If you are working with toddlers or young preschoolers, you may want to have a bunch of different sized hearts already cut out.  Older children should be able to cut out their own hearts.    You will also want several strips of paper, approximately one inch wide.

Using one of the large hearts for your character’s body, show your child how they can create a character by adding paper strips for arms and legs and smaller hearts for hands and feet.  Then let them get creative!

Folding the strips of paper accordion-style gives your characters a little “spring,” and it is perfect for working those hand muscles and fine motor skills.  

Your child can cut out construction paper eyes, hair, and other additions.  They can also use markers or crayons to add details to their heart creatures.

My daughter had fun designing her heart characters, cutting paper strips to make hair and using her markers to give them eye lashes and other fun details.

The next time the weather has you stuck indoors, try this simple Valentine’s Day craft.  By the way, this heart craft looks super cute on the doors!

More Valentine’s Day Crafts:

• Beautiful Kid-Made Heart Garland
• Love Tree— Preschooler Craft
• Paper Heart Penguin Craft
• Awesome Valentine’s Day Ideas for Boys