We make Valentine’s Day cards every year.  In the past, making 40 Valentine’s cards seemed daunting but this year we are making a big batch of melted crayon art Valentines!

Pro-tip: Don’t wait until February 12th or 13th to gather what you need for your child’s Valentine’s Day Party! 

Store bought Valentine’s are more convenient.  But they are also so boring!  Every child picks their favorite licensed character themed Valentine card.  I am willing to bet that there will be several of the same “Frozen” cards and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” cards coming home with the kids on February 13th this year.  (A Friday the 13th that is also a day filled with sugary sweet treats is a recipe for disaster!)

Last year, we made filled Valentines for Pea’s preschool teachers and class.  The preschool class was much smaller than her kindergarten class and did not need to have the children’s names on them.

We bought Valentine’s cards for Pork Chop’s kindergarten class because there were more children in his class.  The kindergarten and first grade teachers at our school send home a roster with each child’s name on it and asks that the children fill out the cards themselves.  When you have a kindergartner writing their classmates’ names on cards, it’s a given that several of them will get “messed up” and your child will want to re-do them.  Handmade (and hand-stitched like last year’s) cards take a lot of time but the store bought cards typically have a bunch in the box for $2.00.

This year we decided that we still wanted to make Valentine’s Day cards.  I also wanted the convenience of printed cards so I came up with this fun Valentine’s Day craft for my daughter’s class.

For this melted crayon craft you’ll need:

• broken crayons
• manual pencil sharpener
• wax paper
• scissors
• iron
• old kitchen towel (we used an old pillow case)
• card stock
• printer
• This printable
• paper towels
• pencil

The “crafting” part is something young kids can help with but an adult or older child (and supervised) should do.

Melted Art Crayon Valentines Instructions

First, print the Valentine’s Cards template. White construction paper can be used but I had some cardstock on hand. (Regular copy paper may be too thin for this craft.)

Cut out the individual cards (6 to a page). Set aside.

First I laid out a sheet paper towel on the table and put a sheet of wax paper on it. I had my kids use a manual pencil sharpener to “sharpen” broken crayons in coordinating colors.  For these hearts we chose shades of pink and red with a tiny bit of purple and a few shavings of yellow.

We collected the crayon shavings on the wax paper.  Spread them into a thin layer.

Next put another sheet of wax paper on top of the shavings (or you can fold the first wax sheet over the shavings) and cover it with the old kitchen towel.

Carefully iron (dry, no steam) over the towel until the crayon is melted.  It only takes a few seconds.  My kids thought it was fun to watch the colors mix!

 

While the crayon is still warm cut the wax paper into hearts that are small enough to fit on the cards.  I folded them and cut out hearts the same way I would if I was cutting out construction paper hearts.

Grab the printed-out cards that you set aside earlier.

Place a wax paper heart face down on the cardstock. (If needed, re-melt the hearts under the towel again to make them soft and pliable.)  Put your towel over it and once again gently iron over the towel for about 10 seconds to “glue” the heart onto the card.  Lift the towel and allow to cool.

 

 

 

The melted crayon looks so vibrant on the card.  I used a pencil to draw the balloon strings on the heart balloons.

Let your child fill them out.  The lines makes it much easier for little hands to write on the cards!  If you must hand out candy with the cards a heart shaped lollipop or a balloon could be taped to the card.

Be sure to check out our Preschool Valentine’s Day Cards.

We also made These Bouncy Ball Space Valentines!

Enjoy this tasty popcorn treat while you craft.