Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to create some heart-shaped projects with your little ones. Arts and crafts with toddlers can be a bit messy — but also lots of fun —  so my nieces and I started a crafty session. I chose two different little art projects for them to realize. They each made a lovely card for their mommy and daddy. If you want to give it a try with your kids, all you need is some paint, brushes, paper, a cardboard roll and blu tack. heart stampWork with what you’ve got! To decorate the outside of their cards all we needed was an empty roll of toilet paper and some paint. heart stamp rollI folded the roll in the shape of a heart and added some paint of their choice to the rim. heart stamp colour And action! Then it was their turn to stamp the heart on the card. The younger one especially had a lot of fun. heart stamp_leo_CollageAgain, it was a nice opportunity to name the colors in passing without her noticing it as a strict and boring exercise. She chose the color and was more than happy to see the hearts she’d created. heart stamp happy For the inner part of the card, we used another technique to bring love to the paper. I cut out a heart and asked my niece to pin it to the card with some blu tack. It is easy to remove without leaving any marks and therefore better suited than sticky tape or glue for this project. heart_flo_CollageThen they used the brush to paint along the lines of the heart. For my older niece it was a welcome change to be allowed to draw outside the lines as she’s usually very concentrated to stay within the lines in coloring books. The only thing you need to keep in mind is not to accidentally slip and paint underneath the heart, otherwise the effect won’t work. heart stamp help As you can see, arts and crafts projects are not just for girls. It can be even more fun if the man of the house joins the painting and trains his own fine motor skills for a change. These cards are also a sweet idea for Mother’s Day … heart stamp_remove_Collage… or Father’s Day! We let the warm winter sun help us dry the paint. Then the girls removed the heart and the blu tack. They really liked this simple but gorgeous effect. heart stamp resultI added the finishing touch by writing a short line into the heart. This would also be the perfect space for some lovely greetings for your Valentine. heart stamp result 3Look at the artwork of a 2 year old. Isn’t it inspiring?