If you're after an inexpensive, easy to set up Valentine's craft activity for toddlers, preschoolers or school kids then look no further because heart stamp painting is about as easy as it comes. The best part is you can make the heart stamp yourself from empty toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes you have at home. Heart stamping is also a great art activity for daycare, kindy or school and can be used to make Valentines gifts for family and friends.
DIY HEART STAMPS
Heart stamps can be used for painting on paper or canvases, making Valentine's cards, homemade wrapping paper or can be used to stamp in playdough {although they will probably disintegrate after a few uses}.
They're also a great way for children to practice hand/eye co-ordination and hand strengthening as they push down the heart. Painting with them is also a fun process art activity as each piece of art will be different despite using the same stamp shape.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE DIY HEART PAINT STAMPS
- Toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes
- Paper or cardstock
- Sticky tape or washi tape
- Washable paint
- Paper plate
If you have a craft stash and hoard recycling like me then you'll probably have everything you need at home already. If you prefer not to use toilet paper rolls, or can't because you're in a classroom, then you can use cut down paper towel rolls or purchase cardboard craft tubes online or at dollar stores. Keep in mind you will need a separate tube for each different colour you want to paint with.
We used pink and red paint for ours because it's almost Valentine's day, however you can do the heart stamps in any colour you like {they look really great as a rainbow canvas}. If you're doing a heart painting as a gift then I would suggest using a small canvas so it can be mounted straight onto the wall, you can find them at most dollar stores relatively cheap or online at Amazon.
HOW TO MAKE A HEART STAMP FROM TOILET PAPER ROLLS OR CARDBOARD TUBE
1. Fold the toilet paper roll {or cardboard tube} flat so there are two creases, one at the top and one at the bottom.
2. Invert the crease at the top so it is curved inwards. This will make the heart shape.
3. Tape across the curve to hold it in place so the heart shape doesn't distort while stamping.
4. Put some paint onto a paper plate and put the end of each toilet paper roll into the paint. Once the end is covered in paint, stamp the heart shape onto paper.
What's really great about heart stamp painting is that toddlers can do the painting all by themselves once you've made the heart stamp. They can also completely control the outcome of what they make which is the beauty of process art and fosters independence and creativity.
I made our heart stamps for my 3yr old and then we both made heart creations alongside each other. She made paintings and experimented with stamping the hearts in different directions and overlapping different colours once she was confident. We also made a few heart Valentine's cards we can give to Grandma and her friends.
After she finished making her heart paintings she decided to colour in the hearts with matching pens. This was a great extension activity that she initiated all on her own and was great pencil grip practice and more hand/eye co-ordination as she tried to colour within the lines.
Of course 3yr olds don't have the longest attention spans, so after carefully colouring in the red hearts she started losing interest and went a bit crazy colouring in the light pink ones, then decided to copy the hearts and do random squiggles haha. She was super proud of her final creation and the fact she did it all by herself.
MORE VALENTINES IDEAS FOR KIDS
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