The kids gave daddy their hearts for Valentine’s Day – literally! This is a great craft for siblings to work on together, and results in a beautiful keepsake for any family member.

First, I wanted the kids to each paint “their” heart, so I cut two heart shapes from sturdy white paper (older kids can do their own cutting), and set out different colors of paint. But neither kid wanted to get messy! So I slipped the hearts into plastic zip-top bags and squirted in their requested colors of paint: peach and green.

The kids loved smearing the paint on through the bag. Veronika loved that she made circles of paint as she pressed, and Travis loved that he could cover the heart completely without getting a drop of paint on his fingers, my neat boy.

I set the hearts aside to dry.

Meanwhile, I removed the mat from inside a frame and traced it onto red construction paper instead. Once the hearts dried, I wrote each child’s name on the one they had painted, then glued to the red mat.

Write a sweet message along the top or bottom, replace inside the frame, and then wait for the big smile on your recipient’s face!