Coffee filter hearts make a colorful Valentine’s Day project for kids.
Remember the coffee filter snowflakes we made a couple of months ago? We used the same technique to make our own coffee filter heart decorations for Valentine’s Day.
How to Make Coffee Filter Hearts
MATERIALS
- Coffee filters
- Watercolor paint
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Newspaper or wax paper to cover table
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Fold & cut coffee filter into heart shape
First, we folded the coffee filters in half and cut out half heart shapes from them (for symmetrical Valentine’s Day hearts).
2. Fold & cut designs
Then we worked with them as if they were snowflakes, folding and cutting to make various cutwork designs in the hearts. So easy!
The coffee filters are wonderful for this because they are lightweight and easy for kids to cut through multiple layers. Even though they are lightweight, they are also sturdy and can hold up to lots of handling (unlike tissue paper).
3. Paint with watercolors
And the other wonderful thing about the coffee filters is that they take watercolor paint really well. The wet paint makes the ridges disappear from the coffee filters.
This time we worked on sheets of wax paper, although we’ve also done these over newspaper, posterboard, and directly on the table (watercolor is a pretty easy clean up).
I love how the Valentine’s Day hearts look in the window! As with the snowflakes, Maia and I just glued these up with dabs from a glue stick (easy to wash off later).
Framed Coffee Filter Hearts
Maia painted about twenty of these coffee filter hearts that she told me were to sew on my shirts. She was really very insistent about this — that she had made all these beautiful hearts for me and she wanted me to sew them on my t-shirts.
I was touched, but explained that since they were made of paper, they would disintegrate as soon as they were washed.
So we talked about other ways to use the hearts. She didn’t want to hang them in the window.
Finally, I asked her if she would like to frame them and hang them on the wall. Yes!
I brought out a few acrylic box frames from our stash and she arranged the hearts carefully in them. We now have a collection of painted hearts hanging in our bedroom!
Want more ideas? Click here for 30 Valentine Crafts and Activities for Kids (with a FREE printable list!).
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33 Comments
Sara
February 1, 2011 at 9:16 pmJean, I love these. They are perfect for me and my 3-year-old son to do together!
Jessie
February 1, 2011 at 9:18 pmWe have those in our window, too! Except we used eyedroppers to apply the paint, so they look kind of tye-dieish. I made that word up :)
Lovely!
sherri/the claw
February 1, 2011 at 9:50 pmcute – love it. i’ve been looking for a cool and easy valentine craft.
rae
February 1, 2011 at 10:17 pmthese are lovely, jean! i’m going to check out your article….
Anya
February 1, 2011 at 11:32 pmLovely :)
MaryAnn F. Kohl, art book author
February 1, 2011 at 11:42 pmtotally fabulous
Valerie
February 2, 2011 at 5:44 amThose are great and I’m thrilled that you mentioned that you put them up with dabs of stick glue! I never know what to use so we rarely have any art on our windows! I have been reading your blog for a couple of years now, thank you for all the inspiration!
shanti
February 2, 2011 at 9:37 amBeautiful! Shall be making… thanks for the inspiration.
Shanti
robyn blaikie collins
February 2, 2011 at 11:14 amwhat a lovely article… i always love your ideas. they are wonderful.
robyn blaikie collins
February 2, 2011 at 11:16 am2 things…
i have had the hardest time finding the gel glue you showed in your batik project (which i adored)
and secondly, what kind of watercolors are those? they look positively edible and i want to paint with them right now!!
Lynn
February 2, 2011 at 2:53 pmLove all your ideas. Can’t wait to do them with the boys. I saw your article today. We must be really close to you–we live in WNC too. Thanks for all the ideas.
Melissa
February 2, 2011 at 3:03 pmYou are fabulous! I have your blog on my side bar to keep updated on your creative goodness!! I love stopping by for inspiration!!
Please stop by my blog to enter to win the fairy house….it was made by THIS artful parent wanna-be:)
Keep inspiring!!!
Gianne
February 2, 2011 at 4:39 pmI love it! Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas you have flooded into our lives. Your artfulness brings joy to the Curry Family!
cowsgomooandducksgoquack.blogspot.com
MamaK
February 2, 2011 at 11:48 pmThese are great. I’ll be making them with my 2 littles tomorrow. I’m always checking your blog for ideas!
Moitreyee
February 3, 2011 at 12:56 pmJean, we had such a fun day yesterday working on this project that you suggested. My child is sick and stuck in the house, and anything that is related to hearts and valentines excite her.
Our coffee filters were flat, without the circular base. So we just cut shapes out of it and had fun making snowflakes. It really retained the colors very well. We added glue and glitter of course. Then hanged them from a branch that is hanging from our ceiling.
Check out my wire sculptures, some looks like hearts. May be your Maja would like to make it.
Moitreyee
http://www.bluefroginthetub.blogspot.com
Mary Scott Foreman
February 3, 2011 at 5:59 pmMy kids (8, 6, and 3) and I made these last night and had a blast! They were easy and fun and beautiful! We were then happily surprised this morning to see that the wax paper underneath them also was dyed by the watercolors! Now we have double the hearts! Let’s just say we are having fun decorating! Thanks for the idea!
~Mary
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 7:56 pmWe love using droppers for liquid watercolors! So fun!
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 7:57 pmWe use tape for putting art up on the window, too. But the stick glue is SO easy to wash off. Tape gunk sometimes less so (although it comes off with a razor blade).
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:01 pmWE’ve bought the blue gel glue at a couple different places — Target, I think, and maybe Kmart and the drugstore. You can also buy it online (here it is at discount school supply: https://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=1893&keyword=gel%20glue&scategoryid=0&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=).
We used a few different boxes of watercolor cakes this time (Melissa & Doug, Crayola, and a fancier set I bought for an art class pre-Maia).
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:04 pmI just looked at the box of watercolors you were probably talking about. They are Angora watercolors and are about $7 bucks: https://www.dickblick.com/1/1/2186-talens-angora-watercolor-pan-sets.html. We love them.
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:05 pmYep – Asheville!
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:07 pmThank you! What a lovely fairy house! And yummy looking treats…
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:12 pmLove those wire sculptures! Especially the one with the beads! Maia would love to try that.
Jean Van't Hul
February 3, 2011 at 8:12 pmSo glad you had fun with this!
Michelle
February 4, 2011 at 3:43 pmWe did this with our preschool art group and the kids loved it. Even the toddler siblings got in on the painting fun. Thanks for the great idea!!
Debchitwood
February 6, 2011 at 8:51 pmI love this activity – so pretty and great for developing many skills! I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
Peaceful Knitter
February 7, 2011 at 12:46 pmI tried this out over the weekend with my 13 mo daughter. She moved the brush around a bit, but mostly wanted to crumple the coffee filters. I really enjoyed painting my hearts, though! A friend suggested sprinkling salt on the water color…it makes a beautiful crystalized effect. Thanks for the ideas!
Jacqueline
February 7, 2011 at 1:51 pmI always love your ideas! We did this too for our window. I posted the end result in my blog.
Phrogmom.wordpress.com
February 8, 2011 at 7:49 amwhat a wonderful idea, i am going to try this with my toddler to make valentines for his classmates. maybe i will try the droppers, since he isn’t always great at getting the water in the water colors then on the paper. or maybe i could mix up little bowls of liquid watercolor….i have some tubes somewhere…..
Marie
February 11, 2011 at 11:55 amThese are really cute, neat idea!
Gianne
February 14, 2011 at 5:01 pmGosh, I have been seeing these EVERYWHERE (yes, they are all linking back to you…or most are!) Just wanted to let you know me and my girls did these and they were a hit! Thanks again!
https://cowsgomooandducksgoquack.blogspot.com/2011/02/coffee-filter-heart-window-suncatchers.html
Gianne
Danielle Bailey
December 26, 2011 at 12:41 pmWow, that cute little girl is talented in making paper designs. The creations are fit to serve as displays on the window. I just might try to make those in celebration of the holiday season.
Beverly Buckner
February 11, 2013 at 4:15 amGreat idea, Jean. I love how your imagination works. It’s a good bonding for me and my son and daughter. I am sure; they will have fun in doing it. Thanks for sharing.