Making a homemade valentine is not only special for your child but also makes a lasting impression on your valentine to be.  Every year we make several different ones, but this year our favorite was a flamingo valentine, which Willow made for all of her classmates.  It’s going to be a fun valentine exchange!

Materials:

1. Sticky hearts – foam ones from your local craft store – different sizes are the best.
2. Heart stickers that say Valentine’s slogans
3. Gold glitter
4. little eyes
5. Elmer’s glue
6. Hot glue and glue gun
7. A scrap piece of fabric
8. Pink pipe cleaners
9. Heart-shaped (medium sized) cookie cutter

How to Guide:

Phase 1

1. Cut-out your heart shapes using a medium sized cookie cutter.
2. Trace it and cut-out several layers of paper at one time.  Try to do all of your cutting for your whole project at one time.
3. You will need one for the back and front side of your flamingo body.  Make sure your cut is clean so there aren’t jagged edges (if you get those, cut less paper at a time).

Phase 2

1. Fold a pipe cleaner in half and make a little flamingo head the size of a finger tip by twisting it twice.
2. Twist down almost to the end flaring the end out.  Bend to make the shape of a sloping long neck.
3. Glue the flared pipe cleaner and base of the neck area to the heart, in the top right corner.  Make sure to press down with your scrap fabric to make it secure.

Phase 3:

 

1. Fold a pipe cleaner in half again for the legs.  Glue it in the middle section of the heart making sure the legs are nice and long outside of the heart itself.  Pull the legs down before gluing them if they are not long flamingo legs.
2. Hot glue the curved part to the heart with a scrap fabric pressing firmly.
3. Stick one adhesive heart to the head sticking pointy side outward.
4. Glue one drop of hot glue to the inside pipe head and stick the other adhesive heart to match.  Press firmly down and make sure no hot glue spills out.  If so wipe it immediately to remove it.  You want the head to be clean and the glue helps to keep it together.

Phase 4:

1. Twist the left leg around the right leg and bend it back.
2. Bend the feet back to make feet on both legs.

Phase 5:

1. You now have a wonderful flamingo body for your child to decorate.  Take all of them to a work space equipped with all the fun colored and diverse shaped hearts and stickers.  Let your child’s imagination run free to create valentines he or she desires.  It helps to have one sticker that says “Happy V-day” or something like this since it won’t be written anywhere else on the valentine.
2. Glue with the Elmer’s glue the eye to each side.  Also, have your child decorate each side with hearts.
3. Glue around the eye and the tip of the heart head with Elmer’s and sprinkle glitter all over it immediately.  This helps to add depth and character to the face.

You now have a wonderful FLAMINGO VALENTINE!!!!!!XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO.  Have your child decorate a long envelope that fits the size of the valentine.  Using the same hearts and stickers.  I also glued a flower to the middle and I will brush a little pink paint on there too.  Or leave it white, it’s pretty.  Place the flamingo inside and maybe add gold confetti.  Your child will feel so proud of this invitation and it was definitely a mommy-and-me effort which is special too!  Happy Valentine’s Day!!!