Valentine’s day is an exciting part of the year, people exchange a lot of sweets and lovely gifts to celebrate the festivity of the event. While there are a lot of ready-made gifts that you can buy, there are also some brilliant ideas that you can use for making wonderful valentine’s day crafts, and the best part is you can make the elderly part of this event by indulging them in making these valentine crafts.
These Valentine crafts are easy to make and are made with inexpensive craft supplies, and are great Valentine’s Day activities for seniors and the elderly. They’re also easy to modify for those who need more help. So see what you can do with them to fit your needs.
Materials
As usual, we always recommend using items you have around your home for making easy crafts – remnants or wrapping paper, greeting cards, magazine pictures, fabric, beads, candles, candies, clay pots, vases, jars, and plates, etc. Or buy items inexpensively from thrift stores and dollar stores.
Valentines’ crafts often involve candy! (Sugarless candies are easy to find now, as well). Using candles, especially flameless battery candles, add ambiance too. Many of these can be used as fancy ways to give a valentine, as a centerpiece, at a place setting, or as a give-away. Whatever fits your needs!
Some Easy Valentines Crafts
Spiral Candle Centerpiece
This eye-catching candle centerpiece is really easy to make — it’s a really easy craft idea. You can use so many items that you may have at home. A pink color scheme works well too. Try setting several of these Valentine crafts in a row down your table or on a mantle.
You will need:
- Craft glue
- Tall glass vase (I like a straight shape)
- Curly Valentine garland
- Pillar candle
- A CD for the base
- Valentine stickers to decorate CD edges
- A strip of red ribbon to lay across the CD base
- Two small artificial flowers for ends of the ribbon on the base
- Round doily to set it on
It’s simple to see how to assemble this, just from the picture. First, stick the stickers around the edges of the CD base. Then apply glue on the strip of ribbon across the CD, with flowers on the ends. Place the glass with the candle onto the CD. Cut the appropriate length of the coil from the garland, and wind around the vase. Place it all on top of the doily. When you light the candle, it casts interesting shadows from the garland against the wall or on the table.
Valentine Hearts Candy Dish
Valentines’ crafts are not complete without a creative candy dish. And this fun candy dish decoration has many possibilities. You can use printed or floral paper cups, perhaps to match the print in the hearts-on-a-stick, which were cut from matching wrapping paper. Any valentine candy will work for this, as well as whatever plate or dish you may have around.
You will need:
- 2 round doilies for the bottom base, and for on top of the cup
- Dish to put candies in
- Paper cup for a holder
- 3 long wooden skewers
- Colorful paper to cut for hearts
- Gumdrop or other candy to place on tops of skewers
- Poke 3 holes through the cup bottom (which, since it’s turned over, is now the top).
- Cut out 2 hearts for each skewer, back to back, so you have printed on both sides of the heart. Glue it around the edges, but leave it open at the top and bottom, so you can slide the skewer through. You can also glue a small valentine in the middle of the hearts too, with a message, if desired.
- Next, place the round doily on the top of the cup.
- Run the skewers, from underneath the cup, through the holes in the cup; and also through the doily.
- Slide each skewer into a heart so it comes out at the top of the heart.
- Poke the candy onto the top of the skewer.
- Position the skewers the way you want them in the cup.
- Place the cup into a dish, then fill with candy. Put it all onto the doily base.
The Hearts on a Stick
These two-sided hearts (as shown with the candy dish above) can be made large or small, attached to skewers or colored toothpicks. Then use them for all sorts of other Valentine crafts…
- Hang them from the ceiling, mobile style
- Stand one up in a candy dish
- Insert a small one into the top of a cupcake or cake
- Poke into a flower arrangement or a plant, as a planter stick
- If you make really large hearts, laminate and use them as placemats!
- Make long, tall hearts; laminate, and use as bookmarks
Heart Picture Frame
Heart picture frames make really cute valentines crafts — and they’re made with a cookie cutter! Very simple — just trace it onto your favorite photo. Hang some baubles from it, or in this case, painted wooden hearts. I found that it works best to attach the various components in a specific order so that it hangs well.
You can use this craft for anniversaries as well. Decorate it whatever way you’d like — we offer several suggestions. Or perhaps you’d like to frame a very much loved pet! Perfect to give as a gift or keep for yourself. These can be hung on a wall or even a Christmas tree. Using cookie cutters for frames is really fun. There are many shapes and colors available for the various holidays and seasons.
Hershey Kiss Mouse
You may have seen these little mice done in red and green for Christmas. But they’re also very cute Valentines’ crafts when made all in red (you can also get pink Kisses during Valentine season).
Just glue 2 Kisses together, inserting a thread with a loop in between, if you want to hang it. The ears are paper cut into the shape of hearts, also inserted between the two Kisses. Glue on googly eyes (or little candies) and a black candy or bead for the nose. Or use frosting as edible “glue” instead. A marker is used for the smiley face. Very easy!
Valentine Decoupage
Decoupage is a very easy craft technique that’s perfect for Valentines’ crafts. Cut your piece to size for your project, then apply a decoupage medium under and over your material. Smooth it down and get out the wrinkles, then dry. Apply a couple more layers of medium for extra protection. Decoupage works wonderfully on old chocolate boxes, on wooden shapes from the craft store, small boxes, collages made on canvas or canvas board, etc.
Lollipop Valentine Centerpiece
This whimsical lollipop valentine centerpiece is really two crafts in one. You can paint the clay pot too – we have full instructions. Make it as fancy or as simple as you’d like. And there are many variations to decorate this project. Plus, you can eat lollipops later!
Bird Planter Feather-Craft
This fancy feather craft is an amusing tropical bird that is actually a decorative planter stick. You can also change out the feather color for any holiday or occasion, as always. It also looks fabulous in all pink – like a flamingo. Great for gifts and give-aways too. Give it along with a plant. You can also stick it into the corner top of the gift-wrapped box (as long as it doesn’t pierce the gift!). Or tuck it into the ribbon.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned valentine crafts are not only easy to make but provide you an opportunity to show your love to the seniors and elderly as well. At this stage, anything that triggers excitement or creativity will surely provoke the seniors to take part in as well. With a bit of encouragement and support, you can make them do wonders.