3 Easy Handprint Valentine Crafts

I've come to terms with the fact that Marcus isn't real big into crafting. It's just not his thing, and that's ok. But, that's not to say I don't want some of those cute crafts I see floating all over social media to happen in our home, too.

So, for Valentine's Day I decided Marcus, Julia and I would whip up three handprint/footprint crafts that would require very little time from either child, but would still fulfill my desire to have said items don our home and make for some cute Valentine's to send to the grandparents.

May it also be noted I did these pretty much all at the same time. We were able to knock out hand and foot prints rather quickly, and the kiddos were able to move on to their next desired activity.

Hand & Footprint Valentine Bouquet

What You'll Need
Paper or cardstock
Paint colors of your choice - I'd recommend three different colors for the flower
Paint brush
Marker
Two little hands and two little feet

How It Comes Together
This is pretty self-explanatory.
I first painted did Marcus' hands and made the flowers, and let those dry. Pro tip - I have zero patience for paint drying, so I threw the paper in the microwave for about a minute. Bam! Dried paint.
After the flowers were dry I quickly painted Julia's feet and pressed them down onto the paper to create leaves. Again, threw the paper in the microwave for speedy dry time.
After the leaves and flowers were properly dry I added a few stems to finish off the bouquet.
I then added a the little saying about "hand" picked bouquet with a marker.

This one will be dropped in the mail and sent off to the grandmas and grandpas.
Total craft time: approximately 10 minutes

Little Love Bug

What You'll Need
Paper or card stock for background as well as wings
Paint
Paint Brush
Glue
Marker
One little hand

How It Comes Together
This one was a Marcus-only effort.
We started with painting Marcus hand and adding the print to the card stock. Then I threw the paper in the microwave to dry.
Meanwhile, I quickly cut out two hearts that would eventually form the bug wings.
After the paint was dry Marcus helped me apply glue to the hearts, and then he helped place the hearts onto the bug's body.
With a marker I added the bug's eyes, nose, and mouth.
At the bottom I wrote the little "Love Bug" phrase.

Again, we'll be sending these to the grandmas and grandpas for a little Valentine's Day love.
Total craft time: approximately 10 minutes

LOVE Canvas

Please note the little smudge spot between the "V" and "E". That's courtesy of Julia's drool. I wanted to fix it, but thought better, this perfectly reflects what stage the kids are in their little lives.

What You'll Need
Canvas large enough for your child(ren)s hand and foot prints - this one is an 11x11
Paint color for canvas background and paint color for letters
One little hand and one little foot

How It Comes Together
Lightly apply a base color all over the canvas.
Allow canvas to dry. This I allowed to happen organically, as I was a little worried what might happen if I threw the canvas into the microwave.
After canvas is totally dry apply paint to one hand and place where you would like the "O" to be. Do the same for the feet, and where you would like the "V" to be.
After the "O" and "V" have dried complete the canvas with the "L" and "E".

This one is going to be Scott's Valentine's gift from the kids - even though Scott did help me get Julia's wiggly little feet onto the canvas. So, not so much of a surprise for him. But, it will be fun for Marcus to give his dad a gift, so all isn't lost.

And there you have it, three crafts that took about 15 minutes of participation from my kids - just enough time! - and little keepsakes that have met all my mom-crafting dreams.
Total craft time: approximately 4 hours (including dry time for paint)

There you have it. Three quick and easy Valentine crafts that even the most unenthused crafter can do to appease the momma desire to have a little hand or footprint creation.