If you're looking for a fun and creative handmade card the kids can make for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day or birthdays, download our free printable I love you to pieces puzzle card template and get crafting. The kids will have loads of fun cutting, gluing and creating and they'll have a one of a kind sentimental gift when they're done.
I LOVE YOU TO PIECES PUZZLE CARD
I love you to pieces is a common phrase used to express affection and love to someone you deeply care about. It's often associated with Valentine's Day and used on many Valentine's Day cards and handmade gifts, especially those made at school for parents. It's also a great phrase to use on cards for Mother's Day, Father's Day or for friends and family on their birthday.
I've put together a free printable template so your kids or students can make a puzzle piece 'I love you to pieces' card for any of these occasions, with just a few simple craft supplies.
Supplies to make card:
- Printable card template
- White paper/cardstock
- Coloured cardstock
- Pens, crayons or pencils
- Scissors
- Glue
I made the puzzle pieces all the same shape and slightly larger so they're easier to cut out. If you don't want to cut out the puzzle pieces you can use an old puzzle, just paint the back of the pieces with paint sticks then glue them on, or you can get blank puzzle pieces and do the same.
If you want to make these cards with toddlers you can use torn paper to represent the pieces instead of puzzle pieces, or try our I love you to pieces torn paper craft instead as it's slightly larger in size and easier for younger children to complete on their own.
HOW TO MAKE AN I LOVE YOU TO PIECES CARD
If you're making these cards with a group of children as a classroom activity I recommend doing steps 1-4 ahead of time so it's all set up ready for the kids to colour in and assemble. Cutting out the puzzle pieces is a great fine motor work out for children 8+, however younger children and those without well developed scissor skills may become frustrated cutting them out.
To help make this craft easier for teachers I've also included an SVG template of the puzzle pieces which can be cut out using a Cricut so you won't need to cut out hundreds of puzzle pieces individually. You can get a Cricut machine from Spotlight {AU} or the Cricut Amazon store.
1. Print out the first page of the template onto white paper or cardstock. You'll need 1 of these pages per card you want to make. Cardstock will be more durable, however normal paper will work fine if that's all you have.
2. Print out the second page of the template onto coloured cardstock. If you want to use more than one colour, print a new page for each colour. Cardstock will be much easier to cut out, especially for children. 12-15 puzzle pieces is enough pieces to fill the heart.
If you're making the card for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day I recommend reds, pinks or purple, for Father's Day blues and greens and for birthdays use the persons favourite colours, or rainbow colours.
3. Cut out all of the puzzle pieces. You'll only need 1 sheet of puzzle pieces to fill the heart, however some kids may only paste on a few pieces and some will layer them up.
4. Fold the card template in half along the dotted line.
5. Colour in the words I love you to pieces.
6. Glue puzzle pieces onto the heart section of the card. Children can use as many as they like. The faint heart shape is a guide for where to stick the pieces however children can and will stick them wherever they want to and that's perfectly ok.
If you're making the cards with younger children I recommend using glue sticks as they'll be easier for them to hold and they can apply glue to the whole puzzle piece simply by swiping it across the top of the glue stick. They'll still be working on their fine motor skills and hand strengthening as they press the pieces down and hold them in place.
Older children {like my daughter} can use squeeze glue and apply it across the back of the puzzle pieces by carefully spreading it with the nozzle. It's important all ends of the puzzle pieces have glue applied so they'll stick down flat.
Like I said before the faint heart outline is simply a guide for where the kids can stick the puzzle pieces, but don't worry if they have bits of the puzzle pieces sticking outside the heart line. My daughter did some of hers {above} overhanging the line and some were meticulously placed so they matched up to the edges. The end result still resembles a heart even though the pieces are all facing different directions and some overlap.
7. Fill in the inside of the card. If your child is old enough to write their own message have them fill it in, or write out something for them, or simply leave it blank as the front already says I love you to pieces.
DOWNLOAD I LOVE YOU TO PIECES CARD TEMPLATE
You can download the free printable I Love You To Pieces card by clicking the download template button below. The template includes an A4 PDF file with 2 sheets, one which can be folded in half to create the card and the other is the template for the puzzle pieces. I've also included a separate SVG file for the puzzle pieces which can be used to cut them out via a Cricut machine if you have one.
Please note the template does not include a solid border around the card {this was only added to images to show the edge of the pages}. Please note these printable templates are for personal or classroom use only and cannot be electronically distributed, reproduced or uploaded and sold on any platform. If you would like to share this printable please link back directly to this post.
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