I Love You Bear-y Much! DIY Valentine’s Day Cards

If my 2 year old daughter, L, gets her hands on a crayon, pencil, or Doodle Magic marker, she immediately asks you to draw her a bear. She also really enjoys crafts lately, which has been a lot of fun for both of us. Lucky for L, we know a handful of people (aka her grandparents) who love her “masterpieces” almost as much as my husband and I. I think they’ll be happy when they receive these “I Love You Bear-y Much” Valentine’s Day cards!

At the craft store, we bought: brown and beige paper, heart-shaped stickers, self-adhesive googly eyes, and a pack of 5.5” square cards with envelopes. The total cost was about $10 (and I now have 30+ blank cards/envelopes and 100+ googly eyes leftover!).

I’ve learned that the best way to craft with a 2 year old is to prep as much as I can ahead of time; and so, I pre-printed the insides of the cards, and pre-cut the brown and beige paper she’d need to make her bears. Another tip is to make your own version of the craft so that it’s easier for your child to see what they’ll be making.

When, L was ready to get started, here’s what we did:
· Glue down two brown 2 ¼” circles, as the ears.
· Glue down the brown 4 ¼” circle on top of the ears, as the face.
· Glue down the beige 2 ¼” x 3” oval towards the bottom of the face, where the nose and mouth will be.
· Add two googly eyes.
· Add one heart sticker, as the nose, then use a black crayon or marker to draw the mouth.
· Use pink, red, and purple (L’s favorite!) crayons, as well as heart stickers, to decorate inside the card.

It took us about 30 minutes for L to make 8 cards, and then we saved decorating the insides of the cards for later that day. After each card was made, L exclaimed “More bears!”; so, I’ll say this craft was an easy and adorable success!

Have you thought about Valentine’s Day crafts with your kiddos yet? Please share!!!