Simple Printed Valentines Made With Stuff You Probably Have!

This little pile is from a printed Valentine card class I taught online last week. Before the class, I was afraid that it would be too simple, not enough steps or ideas, but since I was teaching a few little-littles (and it was over Zoom), simple seemed safest. As it turned out, the hour flew by, and when I ended the class, the kids were still going! We focused on printing with items from around the house: potatoes, sponges, and our fingers! When I suggested that the kids could make anything (flowers, butterflies, balloons!) out of their printed and stamped hearts, they were off! A lesson I need, over and over again, not to overcomplicate things!

We made fingerprint hearts and then turned them into people…and patterns! By the way, if you like doing fingerprint art, you must check out Ed Emberley’s books if you don’t know them already!

To make a potato stamp, slice a bit off one side of the potato to make it flat. Press the cookie cutter in most of the way and then carefully cut around the cutter and slide that part off, leaving a raised heart. Brush a thin layer of paint onto a paper plate and dip until the heart is covered. Press onto the paper. You can use to scraps (or cut pieces) to print other shapes, like leaves and stems.

To make a balloon, stamp a heart, draw on a knot with a marker, and glue on a piece of string. I used baker’s twine. We also cut up sponges to make stamps (though I didn‘t take any pic’s of those). One tip: dampen the sponges to make them easier to cut.
Lastly, if you’d like to make Valentine’s gifts, these techniques work well on fabric (if you print and stamp with acrylic craft paint) like the canvas pouch in the top photo.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!