Making a Valentine's Mobile - Kids Activities

Lovemobile

With this valentine your child's words can hang around long after he's moved on to other love interests. Best for kids 3 and up, with help from an adult.

Cover work surface with newspaper. Lay the heavy paper flat, the long way. Use the paintbrush to apply Mod Podge horizontally to about a third of the heavy paper, then arrange overlapping tissue paper strips and hearts on the Mod Podge. Apply another coat of Mod Podge atop the tissue paper. Repeat this process in two more sections until the entire piece of heavy paper has been covered. Let dry completely, about 2 hours or overnight. Trim any tissue that hangs over the edges of the heavy paper.

Use glue to attach the 18-inch length of ribbon to the top edge of the heavy paper, and the ric-rac to the bottom edge. With the permanent marker, write "I love when we ..." near the bottom of the decorated paper.

Use the pencil to trace a wooden heart 6 times onto the orange card stock and 4 times onto the pink stock. Cut the tracings out. Use glue to attach a length of red ribbon in the center of each wooden heart. Glue paper hearts onto the wooden hearts (same color on each side), sandwiching the ribbon.

Ask your child to tell you five things he loves to do with the person he plans to give the mobile to. Write one down on both sides of each heart.

Trim red ribbon into varying lengths from 15 to 20 inches. Tape tops of ribbons 2 inches apart on the back of the top edge of the decorated paper.

Roll decorated paper into a cylinder, overlapping the edges by about an inch, and staple it at the top, bottom, and middle.

Punch 2 holes opposite each other on top edge of the cylinder, just below the bottom of the ribbon. Thread the 20-inch piece of 3/8-inch ribbon through one hole and knot it inside the cylinder. Repeat with the other end at opposite hole.

1 piece of heavy white paper (Strathmore's Bristol Smooth Pad, $16, artsupply.com), cut to 8 by 17 inches from a 14-by-17-inch sheet

1-inch paintbrush

Mod Podge (Gloss-Lustre, $3, joann.com)

1 sheet each of red, orange, yellow, and pink tissue paper, cut into 3 (1/2-inch-wide) strips and 3 hearts each

Scissors, glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue, $5 for 8 ounces, acmoore.com)

1 (18-inch) length and 1 (20-inch) length of ribbon (we used Offray Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/8 inch wide, in Wild Berry, $14 for 20 yards, joann.com)

18 inches of large pink 20-mm ric-rac ($2 per yard, ribbonjar.com)

Permanent marker, pencil

5 (3-inch) wooden hearts (standard wood hearts, $4 for 7, craftamerica.com)

1 (8 1/2-by-11-inch) sheet each of pink and orange card stock ($4 for 50 sheets, joann.com)

Ruler

5 (20-inch) lengths of red ribbon (we used 1/4-inch single-stitched grosgrain, $5 for 5 yards, mjtrim.com)

Clear tape, stapler, hole punch