Making Hearts for Grandma and Grandpa

The new year has me in constant conflict with myself. At least my organization self versus my reduce-reuse-recycle self. I was off to a great start with some long overdue organizing goals, which resulted in cleaning out our closets, storage room, office, kitchen drawers and cabinets, etc., and donating or tossing a lot of the excess items we’ve accumulated over the years.

I also found myself collecting items that should have immediately gone in the recycling bin (think: empty yogurt containers and jam jars).  I had high expectations of spending the cold winter months doing art projects with my toddler son, so I took the garbage and placed it in my newly organized cabinets instead of the recycling bin.  Fortunately, my parents were planning a trip to visit us the weekend before Valentine’s Day and this was the perfect excuse to break out the art supplies and surprise them with a Valentine made by their toddler grandson.

We got to work by gathering our supplies:

• Non-toxic tempera paint
• Card stock in Alister’s choice of pink, purple, and red
• Empty toilet paper rolls*
• Yogurt container lids*

*I am giving myself bonus points for this project since we found new uses for two garbage-worthy items.

To make the heart-shaped stamp, you take an empty toilet paper roll and flatten it into a rectangle. Then, gently release the roll and flip one of the folded sides so it is now slightly pointing inward. Boom, you have yourself a heart stamp. Make any necessary adjustments you wish until it looks like a heart.

After that, take any colors you wish to use and pour a small amount into whichever paint tray you choose. We use old yogurt container lids and they work like a charm. This is also a great opportunity to let your child mix different colors. In keeping with the Valentine theme, we used three lids – one for red, one for white, and one for Alister to explore and make his very own pink.

Now it’s time to paint! Take your heart stamp and place it into the paint to lightly coat the heart-shaped end. Now, stamp it all over your paper until it runs low and return it to the tray to re-coat or try another color. You can also flip it to the other end for another color if you want to keep them separate.

This craft is perfect for small children. It is easy to execute. The mess is contained. And there is a small educational element as they mix two colors of paint to make a new color.

Hope you have as much fun as we did! Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Tagged: heart stamp, hearts, reuse, toddler craft, toilet paper roll, upcycle, Valentine's Day