An easy Valentine’s craft that toddlers and preschoolers can make using odds and ends from around the house.
These Valentine’s collage pops are really cute. They’re totally random – just a hodgepodge of materials. Basically, you can use whatever you have around the house to decorate your collage pops with. These are kinds of like a Valentines on a stick. You could use them as decorations, or as sweet, little keepsakes that children can give for Valentine’s Day.
You may also like our lollipop Christmas ornaments!
The hooligans really enjoyed making their collage pops. An open-ended project like this allows them to be as creative as they want.
What you’ll need to make your Valentines Collage Pops:
I cut out some cardboard hearts and gathered up a collection of small crafting materials: beads, buttons, foam pieces, puzzle pieces, and painted pasta (left-over from our Boneyard wreath project).
How we made them:
The hooligans began by giving their hearts a generous coating of white glue. Don’t be stingy here, spread it on thick so you’ll be able to really pile on your collage pieces. We then left them by the fire to dry for an hour or so. They were already looking so pretty, and we’d only just begun!
Once they were dry, I set out a paint pallet that held pink, purple, red, burgundy and white acrylic craft paints, and the hooligans painted over all of the bits and pieces on their hearts. 
Depending on how many colours you add to your pieces, and how you blend them together, you can end up with some really neat results. There was some great colour mixing and marbling going on. 
Let your child decide which colours he or she wants to use. One little guy today wanted to use only the red paint. That’s totally fine! Likewise, let your child decide when he or she is finished. Some children will place only a few items on their heart and a couple of brush strokes, while others will keep at it until the entire surface is covered. Either way, giving your child control over how they use their materials will give them a great feeling of accomplishment and pride. While the hearts were drying, the hooligans painted a chopstick (always ask for extras when you’re getting take-out!) and when the hearts were dry, we attached it to the back of the heart with some duct tape. Then, they each chose a ribbon from our bin of fabric scraps, and I tied a bow and attached it to their chopstick. You can either thread a twist-tie through the back of your bow, and secure it to the chopstick with the twist-tie or you can use a glue gun, or simple slide the chopstick through the back of your bow. Don’t they look super?
With the white ribbon, I experimented by wrapping the tails of the ribbon all the way to the bottom of the chopstick and securing them in place with a bit of hot glue.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!
You may also like:
6 Easy Valentine’s Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Valentines Cards for Kids to Make
Get 3-5 Playful Preschool e-Book!
25+preschool activities by 25 bloggers, 10 printables, 50 links to activities not featured in the book all for $8.99!
Follow the Hooligans on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
Aleacia @ Dilly-Dali Art
These are cute! A whole bouquet of these would make an amazing Valentine’s display!