Hellobee

Make a Valentine that’s also an activity with these Look and Find Hearts! You can make this for your child, or craft together to make these for their friends!

Similar to an I-Spy Bottle, these hearts let little ones search through lots of colorful items for Valentine’s Day. You can even squeeze this heart and push the items around, giving it a great sensory element.

You can fill this heart with all kinds of things. I looked through the craft supplies I had on hand and found lots of red and pink items. Start with these ideas, and then get creative!

• Tissue pieces
• Pompoms
• Buttons
• Craft foam shapes
• Beads
• Mini erasers
• Ribbons
• Cellophane
• Crinkle bag filler
• Felt scraps
• Sequins
• Cut straw pieces

NOTE: Most of these are small pieces, and while they should stay safely inside the Valentine, it’s best to only give this to children who won’t place things in their mouth.

Tools & Supplies

Clear Medium Weight Vinyl
Cardstock (I used pink, but you can use what you like)
Scissors
Permanent Marker
Sewing Machine
Valentine’s Craft Items (pompoms, beads, sequins, tissue, etc.)

Look And Find Valentine PDF

If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can still make this by sewing the hearts together by hand with running stitch. However, make sure the stitches are close enough so the pieces don’t come out. OR, use larger items inside the heart.

Print the Look and Find Valentine PDF on cardstock and cut out the pieces. Use the large heart as a template and trace around it on the vinyl. A permanent marker works best for this.

Trace two hearts for each valentine you want to make.

Cut out hearts. If any permanent marker shows, you can trim it away.

Hold the two hearts together and sew around the edge. Leave an opening that’s about 2 inches long on one side.

Sometimes the vinyl sticks on a sewing machine. Placing a bit of Scotch Magic Tape on the plate the bottom of the presser foot helps.

Start adding some filler items. Bigger pieces that you want to go all around inside the heart should go in first.

Next, add more items inside. It helps to layer them so they end up all over in the heart. It’s okay if things scrunch around some!

Finally, don’t forget to add a message or something extra special!

If you don’t want your heart to say “I Love You!”, use this heart as a template and cut out a few from the large heart when you’re finished tracing. Write your own message or customize it with a child’s name.

You can even let your child write the notes if you’re making these for friends!

Sew the opening closed.

Now your heart Valentine is ready to give!

These hearts look different on the front and back, and you can squish, push, and squeeze the items around to look and find things.

If you make this for your child, ask them some questions to encourage playing and exploring:

• How many hearts can you find?
• Which color has the most pompoms?
• Where is the heart bead?
• Can you find five circles?

Want to make your heart (or another shape) less red and pink? Fill it with small objects of all kinds!

Stuff these hearts with cute things to look for and find, and don’t forget to fill them with love.

Happy Crafting!