I used to teach art, so when I had my first son, I was so excited to start doing arts and crafts with him. But I quickly found out that doing arts and crafts with a baby or young toddler is a LOT messier than with a room-full of older students.
Here’s an easy no-mess Valentine’s craft for toddlers that is perfect to make with littles! And a wonderful present for grandparents, aunts, and uncles!
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Materials for Valentine’s Day Craft:
Step 1: Choose Your Paper and Paint Colors
I went with pink and yellow construction paper, and some colors that I thought would match those colors. So for the pink paper, I chose blue and white paint. For the yellow construction paper, I chose red and white paint.
Step 2: Make Sure the Paper Fits in the Bag
So when I first made this, I just assumed that the whole sheet of paper would fit in the bag, but alas it didn’t! So I ended up awkwardly folding my paper in half to make it fit. But you can also cut it to make it the right size.
Step 3: Using Masking Tape, Make Your Design
Since this is a Valentine’s craft, I decided on the letters L-O-V-E on one of the papers, and I made a heart for the other sheet. You can make a smiley face, a flower, sun, or a name. Let your creative side loose and go crazy.
Step 4: Put Dots of Paint on the Paper
On top of the masking tape, squeeze some blobs of paint. I alternated the colors, so I made blue and white blobs all over the pink paper, and red and white blobs on the yellow paper. Be generous with your blobs.
Step 5: Put Paper in the Bag
Make sure that it’s completely sealed so that there is no leakage!
Step 6: Let Your Little Play with the Bag
I placed both bags on our coffee table, and both the boys just used their fingers to swirl the paint around in the bag. Let them mix up the paint, until you’re satisfied with how much paint is covering the sheet of paper.
Step 7: Remove the Paper From the Bag and Let it Dry
Gently remove the paper from the bag. If using construction paper, the paper will be quite soggy and flimsy, so make sure to be very gentle so as not to rip the paper.
Step 8: Peel off the Tape
After the paint is mostly dry, using a pair of tweezers, slowly peel off the tape. The tape should come right off, leaving a beautiful design!
And Voila! You’re Done!
Congratulations! Together, you and your baby made a beautiful yet easy Valentine’s craft with no mess!
You can hang it up on your fridge, or gift it to a grandparent as it is. Or you can also write a little note of the back or even fold it in half to make it into a card. However you decide to present it, I’m sure this will be a beautiful gift that the recipient will treasure 🙂
If you liked this post, make sure to check out other activity ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. I also offer many free printables that you won’t want to miss out on!
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This craft is adorable! I would have never thought to do something like this! And my toddler (who loves messes) wouldn’t be able to destroy anything with this craft!!
Yes! Just make sure the ziploc bag is sealed tight!
This looks so fun! Can’t wait for my little one to get a little bigger for things like this!
It is so fun! I think babies as young as 5-6 months can do this! Could even be fun to get baby to do during tummy time!
I LOVE this idea! And I think older kids would like it as well as little ones.
I agree! And I think the end result looks really artsy even though it’s super easy to make!
OMG , how fun!! I will probably try to do this with my son.
You should! It’s so fun and it turns out really pretty too!