Seasonal art for kids

How to Make Heart Suncatchers with Paper Plates

November 5, 2022

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Try making one of our favorite Valentine’s Day crafts! These heart suncatchers are beautiful hanging in the window & so fun to make!

Updated December 2022

Here’s a sweet Valentine’s Day craft that makes for a great handmade gift for family and teachers, but also a lovely Valentine decoration.

Plus, it uses inexpensive materials that are surprisingly great for all kinds of arts and crafts projects!

Paper plates are sturdy like card stock or poster board, cheap, readily available, and have a built-in frame. They are great for drawing, painting, collage, and suncatchers!
Contact paper, also called sticky-back plastic, is awesome for all kinds of collage and stained glass or suncatcher projects. It’s also widely available (you can find it with the shelf liner paper at the grocery or drug store) and inexpensive.
Index dividers can be a surprising addition to the art supply cupboard. Who knew?! Buy the translucent colored ones for suncatcher and stained-glass projects, collage, and multi-media art.

Although, if you wanted to make this Valentine’s Day suncatcher but don’t have the translucent colored index dividers, you could also easily substitute colored tissue paper, lace, ribbon, flower petals, etc. for the colored film.

heart suncatcher pin — Photo by Jean Van’t Hul

Heart Suncatchers with Paper Plates

Note: This is one of the many Valentine crafts and activities from Jean’s book, The Artful Year: Celebrating the Seasons & Holidays with Crafts & Recipes.

You’ll also find process art activities, handmade gift ideas, kid-made cards, decorations, recipes, and picture books about Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day Suncatchers

Colorful hearts catching the light in the window–what could be better at Valentine’s Day?

MATERIALS

Scissors
Small paper plates
Paintbrush
Watercolor paints
Transparent contact paper
Index dividers made out of translucent colored film, or colored tissue paper
Hole punch
Ribbon or string

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare your frame
Cut a heart out of the center of the paper plate. Paint the plate with watercolors.

Press a square of contact paper to the back of the paper plate so the heart is covered, and the sticky side faces the front.
Add colored pieces
Cut the translucent colored index dividers into small pieces. Press them to the sticky contact paper.
Hang your suncatcher!
Use the hole punch to add a hole to the top of the paper plate and string a ribbon through. Hang the suncatcher in a sunny window.

What are your favorite easy Valentine crafts for kids?

Looking for even more Valentine crafts for your family? Check out our Valentine’s Arts and Crafts bundle from the Kids Art Spot!

Filled with 10 fun Valentine activities, each with a step-by-step video tutorial and printable instructions, plus 10 fun drawing invitations to encourage your kids to think and draw creatively. PLUS, you get 10 bonus Valentine activity printables AND 10 printable posters!