Valentine’s Day craft and Classroom Organization

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I am honored that Jo-Ann Fabrics has invited me to team up with them for this Teacher Creativity Blog Hop. I was happy to shop at JoAnn Fabrics and Craft Stores for my supplies. Do you know that they have a Teacher Rewards program? Teachers save on every purchase 🙂
Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, I will share two of my favorite crafts with you. They include a Valentine craft for kids and a Valentine gift for mom.  I also included an extra craft for organization. I hope that you like them.
Valentine Envelope/ Mailbox
When JoAnn contacted me, I knew that I wanted to make something related to Valentine’s Day. I had several ideas, but I kept leaning towards this one. This is a large envelope/ mailbox for those precious Valentine’s Day cards. And, this is how we made it.

Materials

Felt (stiff or regular) 2 pieces per student
Yarn (56in per student)
Tacky Glue (regular glue might work too)
Hole Puncher
Embellishments (I chose felt hearts & buttons.)
Ribbon (for handle)
File folder (Cut a piece smaller than the fabric and slide it into the envelope to hold its’ shape.)

Teacher Prep:

1. The felt pieces will not be cut in any way. The teacher, or helper, will use a hole puncher to make about 6 holes on the sides and bottom of the felt pieces. You can lay the first piece on top of the second to line up the holes. The hole punching is the only part that will need a little more time to complete.
2. Cut 56 inches of yarn and tie a knot on the first hole to keep the 2 pieces together.
3. Cut 2 triangles out of felt. I did this by using a ruler to mark a large X on the fabric.
4. Add a piece of tape to the end of yarn. This will help students thread it through the holes.

Student How To:

1. Glue the triangle piece to the front of the envelope.

2. Thread the yarn. My 3 year-old was able to do this by herself. I modeled how to thread it Under-Over-Under. She got it right away and did not want any help. Can you see that she is able to start under and go through both layers? I underestimated her understanding and abilities for this part, but she did GREAT!

3. Now, she is ready to add the embellishments. The heart sticker was the easiest. The buttons needed a dot of glue. An easy way to do this is to pour the tacky glue on a paper plate. Then, use a Q-Tip to add a dot to the bottom of each button.

4. I cut the letters for her name out of the scraps from above. You can also use alphabet felt stickers to make it easier.
5. Add ribbon or yarn to serve as a handle. I made a bow in the middle of the ribbon, then pushed the ends through  the top holes.

 

 

Valentine Gift for Mom

Valentine’s is the perfect time to give mom a gift. I love handprint crafts for this occasion. And, one of my favorite phrases for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day is  Hold my hand today, but my heart forever!  I remember seeing a fingerprint project years ago, so I decided to combine the two ideas. This is how my little Isabella made it 🙂

Materials

Paint (I used the Americana brand.)
Card stock
Scrapbook paper
Scissors (scallops are nice)

Prepare

Pour a bit of paint into a paper plate. Use Valentine’s Day colors.

How to

1. Student dips the pointer finger into ONE color of paint and makes prints all over the paper.
2. Use a paper towel to wipe finger in between colors.
3. Set aside when the paper is full of colorful fingerprints.
4. Now, paint child’s hands with his/her color of choice.
5. Press hands down on white paper.
6. Add glitter for fun 🙂 and use scalloped scissors to cut around the heart shape that was made with the hands.
7. Glue a bright colored heart behind the heart hands for contrast.
8. Glue one side of the heart to the center of the fingerprinted paper. The other half side of the heart will not be glued to give it a delicate butterfly effect.
9. Send home on Valentine’s Day to be framed by mom. It’s so adorable. I love this handprint keepsake 🙂

 

Teacher Craft for Organization

I know that this is not related to Valentine’s Day, but I really wanted to do something for organization. I kept looking at the mason jars and the fiskars punchers since December. But, I ran across this in the floral/ garden section of JoAnn Fabrics. The bucket caddy is perfect for pencils and crayons. This organization tool makes it easy to keep the essentials in the middle of student tables without overcrowding their space with the larger tubs. It could also be used at the teacher table for small groups. I was thinking of painting them yellow, until I saw the picture on the can of this aqua spray paint 🙂 Here’s how I made it.

Materials

Metal Bucket Caddy
Spray Paint (aqua)
Newspaper
Fiskars Pretty Scallops Punch 4XL
Scrapbook Paper
Ribbon

 

 

How to:

1. Lay newspaper on the floor of your garage.
2. Place the buckets on the newspaper.

3. Spray Paint the buckets. I was going to try to paint with the Americana craft paint, but the JoAnn associate was very helpful. She said that the paint would not last long. So spray painting was the better option. Eeek! I have never spray painted anything before. As it turns out, this paint is very forgiving to beginners like me. I definitely saw drips while painting, but you can’t even see them on the finished product. I did leave the bucket out by my door on a cold afternoon and it dried perfectly.
4. Decorate each bucket with ribbon.
5. Add a label made with the flower puncher. This was my favorite part. I LOVE how this puncher cuts so perfect shapes. I want to go back and buy more shapes! The flower is 3 1/2 inches. So, I made my round labels on powerpoint at 2 1/2 inches so that you could see the flower shape behind it 🙂

Here’s a before and after. Paint makes a huge difference, doesn’t it?

 

Well, that’s all I have for today. I hope that you enjoyed learning about these crafts for the classroom.
Oh, wait. Do you remember that I said that the sales associate was very helpful? She told me about the JoAnn app! She even helped me download it to my phone. Just go to iTunes and search for JoAnn. Once you download it, you will see some weekly ads. BUT… at the very bottom of the screen, you will see some small scissors with the word coupons underneath it. I clicked on it and it gave me 2 different coupons that I could use along with the current sale that was going on. The lady at the register just scanned the 2 coupons from my phone! Voila. It was so simple and I saved a lot of money. One was a 50% off coupon from a regular prized item and the other was a 15% off coupon from crafts. I left very happy!

Savings for YOU

1. Here’s some more wonderful news. JoAnn sent me this coupon to share with you. Click on the picture to download it 🙂
2. You can also sign up for the JoAnn Teacher Rewards program.
Disclosure:
The above review is part of a Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores® campaign. I received compensation for this review; however, this is my personal, honest opinion based on my experience.
Have you done any crafting in your classroom?

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Comments

  1. Miss Kindergarten says
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    omg I am obsessed with it all, but I think the supply caddie is my FAVE!!! I too am scared of spray paint, but after seeing this I might have to change my mind!!

  2. Jennifer White says
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    I LOVE that caddy!!!
    Jennifer
    First Grade Blue SKies

  3. Janice Galarza says
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    I love this felt envelop idea! Ideal to store V-day cards and goodies!
    http://www.prekpartner.com

  4. Mrs. C says
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    All so cute I can't pick a favorite!