By Marie LeBaron

These fun heart-shaped leis are helping to spread Valentine’s cheer. They are the perfect activity for your child’s classroom party or to make ahead of time to give out as Valentines.

Materials

Cardstock paper in Valentine colors
Yarn in Valentine colors
Straws in Valentine colors
Clear tape
Scissors
Hole punch
Crayon or black pen

Directions

Step 1: Cut out your hearts. You can do this a few ways.The quickest way to do this is to cut your paper into 4 pieces, fold each piece in half, and cut out 2 hearts on the fold. You can also use a large heart paper punch or simply cut them out freehand. You’ll need 12 hearts per child-sized necklace.
Step 2: Cut your straws into 1½” pieces. The shorter they are, the easier they are to thread through yarn. You’ll need 12 cut straws for each child-sized necklace.

Step 3: Punch a small hole in each heart. Depending on how large or small your straws are, you’ll need to make sure your holes are smaller. Otherwise, the straw will go right through the punched hole in the heart. I had really small straws, so I had to use a very small paper punch.
Step 4: Cut a 2′–3′ piece of yarn, depending on how long or short you want it to lay around your child’s neck. Using clear tape, tape one end of the yarn. This makes it much easier to thread through the straws.

Step 5: Now it’s time to thread the paper hearts and straw pieces onto the yarn. Line them up if you want to make a special pattern. Once you’ve attached each straw and heart you want, tie off the 2 ends together.

Step 6: It’s almost done. You can stop here, or you can add a few fun Valentine sayings. We wrote a little message on each heart: “cutie pie,” “be mine,” “u r cute,” etc. Now it’s ready to be placed on a child, showing them how loved they are this Valentine’s day!

About the Author:

Marie LeBaron is a crafter, foodie, and mother of three from Salt Lake City, Utah. You can see more of her crafts at her blog Make and Takes.