Cute Valentine's Day Cards

Simple, yet endlessly customizable, this art tissue collage will let your preschooler exercise his creativity, explore his artistic side and unfurl his imagination. Help your child cut the tissue into different shapes and sizes to practice color and shape recognition and hone those fine motor skills.

For a Valentine's Day collage, you can use red, pink and white tissue cut into hearts or cut the finished collage into a heart for a lovely handmade valentine. While everyone else hands out store-bought cards, your child will have a personalized valentine to give away to that special someone. He'll learn about the joy of giving and the pride that comes from making his own gifts.

What You Need:

• Clear contact paper
• Art tissue in a variety of colors
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Collage items such as bits of lace, thread, confetti, glitter or hole punch rounds (optional)

What You Do:

1. Cut a rectangle of clear contact paper about 6" x 12" (15 cm x 30 cm) or any size as desired.
2. Fold the rectangle in half, backing side up. Peel the backing halfway off the back, stopping at the fold.
3. Lay the clear side of the clear contact paper on the table, sticky side up.
4. Attach torn or cut pieces of art tissue and any other collage items you are using to the sticky side of the contact paper. No glue is necessary. Try cutting the art tissue into shapes like hearts or flowers for a fun variation.
5. When the collage is complete, peel off the rest of the paper backing.
6. Fold the other contact paper half over the collage and press so the two halves stick.
7. Trim any ragged edges with scissors.
8. To make your collage into a window hanging, punch a hole in the top and string a piece of yarn through it. Hang the collage in a window or near a light source and watch the light filter through!

Cut the finished contact paper design into a heart shape for a pretty valentine.

Your child may have trouble folding the contact paper over the collage, but don't worry—this project reflects the individuality and creativity of your child, so off-center folds or wrinkles in the contact paper only add to the charm of the finished piece!