Valentine’s Day and crafts are like most classic combos we all love—milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly, or extra guac and tacos. Crafting can be a fun way to engage with your kids, as well as an opportunity to de-stress from the challenges that come from being a parent in the Digital Age. And because we are budget-conscious at the library, we’ve accumulated some of our favorite crafting ideas, using inexpensive books from the Friends of the Library Bookstore, that won’t break the bank for Valentine’s Day. You can get books in great shape for as low as $0.50!
1. Glittered Book Page Hearts (Level: Beginner)
In this project, you’ll need book pages, a paper cutter or scissors and a ruler, a stapler, glue, a small paintbrush, newspaper, and glitter of your choice (Optional supplies: twine and a glue gun).
The project will allow you to go over the principles of measurement with your child as you measure out varying sizes for several strips. The size of the biggest paper heart strip will be determined by how large of a book you select. You can also make it more interesting by allowing your child to express their creativity by mixing and matching glitter colors or teaching them about patterns by alternating color choices.
(Source: The Kim Six Fix)
2. DIY Heart Wall Art (Level: Beginner or Intermediate)
This project can vary between beginner or intermediate depending on what approach you decide to take with your child. Most craft stores or large retailers with a dedicated craft aisle sell paper punches that allow you to instantly cut out paper into chosen shapes, including hearts. Should you decide not to invest in this product, the alternative can be drawing hearts onto craft paper and fussy cutting them with safety scissors.
The fun part about this project is that because the premise is so simple there are so many ways you can approach it with your child. You can make the wall art canvas a custom drawing made by your child, a book page, or, for contrast, a piece of craft or scrapbook paper and alternatively cut the hearts out of the book pages instead. You can use this opportunity to go through the decision making process with your child together.
(Source: DIY Inspired)
3. Paper Book Flower (Level: Intermediate)
Our last recommendation involves very little supplies but employs a lot of patience. To create a paper book flower, you’ll need book pages, scissors, a glue gun, and a pipe cleaner for a stem. To create petals, you’ll cut out ovals of varying shapes. You can save time by folding the pages over in order to cut out two at a time. Once all petals are cut, you’ll add a slight bend, giving them the droopy, delicate we see in flower petals.
Before gluing them around the ends of the stem, consider adding another creative element to your project by using watercolors to add color to the book pages. Or use the glitter approach utilized in the first project for a sparkling finish. Once your pages are dry and assembled to create a flower, try making more flowers to create a bouquet effect.
(Source: Snapguide By Brit + Co)
We hope you found these ideas useful! If you decide to try any of them out, share your photos below in the comments or share them on social media with the hashtag #oclsblog.
