Heart Shaped Binoculars

Heart Shaped Binoculars ~ Recycled Valentine craft ideas for kids

We love simple Valentine craft ideas. One of our favorites is this simple Heart Stamping activity. Seriously if you haven’t tried it yet, you have to check it out. The little heart tubes were too cute to throw out, so we decided to turn them into adorable Heart Shaped Binoculars.

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These little Valentines Binoculars are so easy to make. Bonus: we were able to squeeze 2 activities out of one! These little cardboard tubes (aka toilet paper roll) first became the star of our beautiful art work, and now we are transforming them into binoculars.

Materials Needed:

2 Cardboard tubes ~ we used toilet paper roll
Paint
Paint Brushes
Sting or Yarn ~ This is our current favorite yarn for Finger Knitting. Click on the link for an easy to follow beginners tutorial. My kids love finger knitting!
Hole Punch
Hot Glue Gun or tape

Easy Instructions:

Paint the cardboard tubes (aka toilet paper rolls) your favorite color. We chose shades of pink and red.
Then simply glue the tubes together with hot glue.
Add holes on either side of the binoculars with a hole punch.
Thread your string through the holes and tie to make a necklace

Of course your don’t want to forget the jewels!

Simple Valentines Play Ideas:

Hide paper hearts through out the house.
When the hearts are all hidden, send the kids out on a hunt for hearts. They can use their heart shaped binoculars to help the look.
We numbered our hearts so that they knew how many were left to find. The kiddos loved the challenge.
As an added bonus, everything that they looked at was in the shape of hearts.
Work on simple shape and number recognition as you play this game.

From more simple Valentines Craft Ideas, check out our:

7 simple Heart Animals

Glitter Marble Painting

15 Origami Hearts

DIY Valentines Day Stamp

Glitter Tissue Paper Hearts

Family Movie Night

Bree came home from school Friday night asking if it would be OK to set up a fun surprise for Annika and Kaleb. Absolutely! Her plan was to create a home movie night. We have done this a couple of times, but usually all the kids are involved in the planning. It was so cute watching her plan and prep the fun surprise.

Each of the us received this cute ticket booklet. The book included a ticket for a wrap, carrot sticks, grapes, apples, a drink, popcorn and a vanilla steamer. I love it, great selection Bree!

Bree made sure that everyone surrendered their tickets before taking any of the food. SO cute! Kaleb was quick to ask if there was free refills. Ha!

I’m so happy that Bree wanted to have a Movie Night. Not much set up, and the kids LOVED it! Watching a movie is fun, but it is always better when you make it an event!

My Favorite Restaurant

I love traditions and so do my kids. My favorite Valentines tradition is the special restaurant my kiddos put on. They go to great lengths to make the evening special and memorable. Here is a quick peek into the “Kaleb, Bree and Annika Restaurant” I love the name the kids came up with, it makes me giggle and reminds me of my brother and his naming skills:) Anyways, the guest list included our family and our next door neighbors. It makes me happy that the kids want to invite our neighbors to their special evening!

I enjoyed the my time at the Kaleb, Bree and Annika Restaurant so much that I forgot to take pictures. Here are a few of the preparations and decorations.

Annika created a table runner and place mats buy stamping with a heart cookie cutter. I love how they turned out! Cookie cutter stamping is one of the easiest ways for kids to stamp.

The kids taped the Valentines they received from friends to the wall. The sign is an old crib end with the legs cut off. I have plans of eventually painting it with chalk board paint, but until then I tape butcher paper to it.

The menu that the kids came up with makes me smile (written on the other crib end). The kids took orders on what type of pizza everyone wanted. It was so fun listening to Kaleb call our neighbors to confirm thier reservation and to see what toppings they wanted on their pizza. With help, the kids made individual heart shaped pizza’s.

I had a few hearts left over from the kids valentines and made a cute garland.

They had set the table with china and I think they lit every red and white candle that they could find! Smile!

I love the name tags! Especially the heart at the end of each of the names.

More heart garland and some fun heart shaped balloons that mom sent the kids in their Valentines package. They also asked Chuck to hang a curtain to separate the living room from the dining room (something that I do from time to time, it is cute the kids picked up on it).

The kids did an amazing job of peeling the carrots, washing the fruit, setting the table, helping make the pizza so much more. I am sure that as each year passes I will have to be less hands on in the kitchen, however even though it is the kids restaurant there is still a lot of parent involvement. We joke sometimes that it would all go a lot quicker and smoother if we just did it ourselves, but definitely not as much fun for the kids!

One of my favorite moments of the entire evening was when Bree and Kaleb offered their arm to seat the guests! It was so precious. I love all the cute planning they did to make the evening feel special and they worked really hard to get everything all organized. I hope that this is something that they will want to continue for years to come! Now I just have to work on a later bedtime so they can help with the clean up as well:)

Valentines Lunch

My kiddos look forward to fun lunches. I am regularly a very boring lunch maker:) Often the kids will find a cute note in their lunch box, but nothing over the top. However, I thought I would show how easy it is to make a Valentines lunch without spending too much time. Heart shaped cookie cutters, red food and special heart shaped notes/jokes take this boring lunch to fun and exciting.

I’d love to hear what ideas you have for making your little ones lunch fun and exciting! I see so many creative moms on Pinterest that create TV characters out of sandwiches and amazing themed lunches. Someday maybe that will happen at our house, but for now I am satisfied that I at least got in a few cute hearts, some jokes and a lot of red:)

Happy Valentines Day!

Heart Tube Stamping

Valentines Day Ideas ~ Cardboard Tube Heart Stamping

This simple Heart Tube Stamping activity is fun for toddlers and preschoolers. I love that it take no time at all to set up and the materials come straight from our recycle recycle bin. Below you will find lots of Valentines Day ideas to inspire you.

This is a classic toddler craft that has to be one of the easiest to set up.

Cardboard tubes ~ most commonly found in your paper towels, toilet paper or even your wrapping paper.
Paint of your choosing ~ we used red tempera paint for Valentines day

Now all you need to do is shape the cardboard tube. Simply squish and manipulate it until you reach the desired shape. I tried encouraging the kids to do this step, but it was a bit beyond little fingers. You may just want to do this step yourself. If you are finding that the tube is becoming a little wonky, you can always add a strip of tape around the tube to help it hold its shape.

This is not a new idea, but definitely a fun and easy craft for toddlers. Here is a list of our favorite ways to jazz up your Valentines with the simple cardboard tube.

Did you know that you can turn a simple painting activity into a fun treat filled pouch? You have to check out these simple Kraft paper Stamped Heart Pouches. They would be perfect for handmade Valentines or as a special treat in the kids lunches.
Take your stamping to the next level and create a fun mixed media piece. I love this simple Jim Dine inspired artwork. I am in love with how the colorful background accents the heart. Beautiful!
Grab your scissors and glue gun, because you are totally going to want to create this adorable Hearts All Around art work. A fun collaborative project that you can create with your kiddos.
Here is the perfect way to create a simple cardboard tube Heart Stamp. I adore these photos!
Another great idea on how to use your simple stamp create Hearts A Plenty. A perfect way to address envelopes to your loved ones for Valentines Day.
Glitter has always gone hand and hand with Valentines Day. I love these simple Glitter Hearts and your kids will too.
Your kids will be seeing hearts with these adorable Valentines heart shaped Binoculars. Glitter, jewels and hearts oh my!
Why not have the kids create their own shirts for Valentines Day. Your kids will looks so sweet sporting their own handy work. Plus no need to spend money on the pricey holiday shirts. Its a win-win!
I love this simple way to dress up your Valentines gift bag. What a great way to personalize a special gift.
Looking for a last minute Valentines Card Idea for your kids? Check out these simple cards that are perfect for your kids to create in just a few moments.

Looking for more Valentines inspiration? Then make sure to check out Housing A Forest’s favorite Valentines crafts, games and activities.

Monthly Archives: February 2012