Cute Woodland Animal Valentines for Girls and Boys
Cute Woodland Animal Valentines for Girls and Boys
Do you need some super cute valentines for girls and boys for a homeschool co-op, Sunday school class, or school group? Here are some 3D Valentine’s Day cards you and your children can make and share! (Or you can make them for your children to give to them on Valentine’s Day!)
They’re easy to make, but because they are 3D, the glue you’ll use to make them will need time to dry, so make them the day before if you can. Be sure to make your “valentine construction day” a fun time to spend with your children working on fine motor skills (cutting and gluing) and following instructions. Enjoy your time together making these valentine crafts, and don’t worry about whether your valentines are perfect or not!
A Note About Printing Your Valentines
You can print either the girl version or the boy version of these woodland animal valentines. Or you can print both! Both are constructed the same way. The only difference is the cute little squirrel included on each version.
How to Make Your Valentines
Step 1:
The first step for making your valentine is simply to cut out the pieces. If you have younger children and your pieces have rough edges or are crooked, don’t worry about it! The recipient will know that your child made his or her valentine with love even if it’s not perfect!
Step 2:
Add a few dots of school glue to the bottom layer of your valentine. You may want to add another dot right below the “v” at the top to help the top of the valentine stand up better when it’s completed.
Step 3:
If you haven’t done it already, you’ll want to fold the strips into “accordion” shapes. Then put one piece on each dot of glue. Once you have the accordion pieces in place, put a dot of glue on the top of each one.
Step 4:
Place the second layer on top of the accordion pieces. Then repeat the process of adding glue, placing a few more accordion pieces, adding glue to the accordion pieces, and adding the top layer.
You can see from the photo above that these valentines definitely have a lovely 3D effect! If you choose to use Pop-Dot Adhesives (see “faster and easier” instructions below), they’ll still have a 3D effect, and they won’t take quite as much time to make. I made the valentine (above) the regular way, though, and it still only took me a few minutes.
In the photo above, you can see both the girl and boy Woodland Animal Valentines. I made the girl version 3D (following the included instructions) and I made the boy version by gluing the layers directly on top of each other (without making them 3D) just to see how they would look. You can see that even the non-3D-version turned out to be really cute! So if you have the time and want to make a fun project out of creating these valentines, go for it! (Or if you have less time and want to use the faster-and-easier instructions below, do that instead!) Or if you’re a no-nonsense kind of person and you want to glue the layers directly on each other, that’s ok too! We think you’ll find that, no matter which version you make, these valentines are super cute and will be enjoyed by the recipients.
Do you need to make your valentine construction faster and easier?
If you don’t have enough time to go through the suggested process for making these 3D valentines, you can make the process faster and easier by using these 3D Pop-Dot Adhesives instead of cutting out the “accordion” strips that are included for that purpose. If you’re running super short on time, you can even use rubber cement to glue the pieces directly on top of each other and not make them 3D. (If you’ve never used rubber cement, it’s wonderful stuff! It only takes a few seconds to dry, so you don’t have to wait like you do if you use school glue.)
How to Download Your Valentines and Instructions
If you’re ready to download your Woodland Animal Valentines, you can get them from our store. You’ll find both versions, so all you have to do is click on the version you want:
Woodland Animal Valentines for Girls
Woodland Animal Valentines for Boys
Each version comes with the images you’ll need to print and cut out as well as the “accordion” strips you’ll need for making your valentines 3D. The second page of each printable includes instructions for how to make your valentines. Since you’ll only need to print out the instruction page once, be sure to choose the “custom” option for printing your valentines. Then you can print extra copies of only page 1 rather than printing out the instruction page each time.
Whether you want to print and create one of these 3D valentines or whether you need to make enough for a group, we hope you love them! If you’d like to share them with friends or family, please share the link to this article rather than sharing the actual printable valentines. Thank you so much, and have a very happy Valentine’s Day!
