Valentines Day Handprint Card

Lorelai and I were discussing Valentines Day again this afternoon and I asked her if she wanted to buy valentines this year or make them herself, and of course she chose making them herself. I asked her if she wanted to make on for her Gammie and she jumped all over that. I explained the ‘craft’ to her and she was all for it, as she usually is when it comes to getting her hands full of paint. =) This was completely winged but I think it came out so cute! Gammie’s going to love it! (And sorry Gammie, this one isn’t a surprise.) I also chose to do a display card because I wasn’t thinking and did her handprints at the top of the paper. If you do them at the bottom, you will be able to do the fold at the top. I actually like it this as a display card much better!

Marterials We Used:

• 1 Piece of Cardstock, cut to size
• Pink or Red Paint
• Scissors
• Tape
• Marker (optional)

Directions:

1. Paint your child’s hands, one at a time, and press them down onto the paper so that the thumbs are touching. See photos above to see how they should be pressed down. It will come out best if the fingers are more together and the thumbs sticking out but slightly curled in. Make sure you keep the handprints at the top of the page if you want to do a display card. (For a regular card, do them towards the bottom.)
2. If needed, paint in the dip by the thumbs to make it more heart-like. I had to do this a little but it’s hardly noticeable.
3. Once dry, cut the paper to size. I figured out where I wanted to first fold and just made sure there was enough to fold over completely (like a card).
4. Do your first fold by folding the bottom half back. Trim any excess paper off of the top/bottom/sides.
5. Do your second fold halfway down the bottom/back half. The point is to make a little leg/bench/whatever for the card to lean back on.
6. Tape the two sides together, leaving the outside leg (or whatever you want to call it) loose. (Obviously, if you tape all of the side together, the card will not be able to stand upright.) See image above – the pink line is the tape.
7. Have your child write, stamp or color a message on the back. You’re done!