Make a Valentine box out of a cereal or cracker box to collect all the classroom Valentine’s Day cards. Try a sweet and sassy purse to carry home all the cool cards and tasty treats collected from classmates. This project feels a little old school to me and that makes me happy. I was a little disappointed last year when the teacher sent home the cards in a decorated paper sack.
MATERIALS for a Valentine box:
- Recycled cereal boxes, two
- Ellison Sizzix Machine and Dies: Layered Flowers, Layered Flowers #5
- Pearl brads, nine
- Felt: pink, red
- DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints: Pink Chiffon, Carousel Pink, Baby Pink, Lamp Black
- Foam alphabet stamps
- Black inkpad
- Hole punch
- Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
BASIC SUPPLIES for a Valentine box:
scissors, ruler, paintbrush, newspaper (to cover work surface)
Instructions for a Valentine box:
1. For purse shape, open cereal box on seams. Reposition cereal box (with printed side on inside). Glue seams. On covered work surface, paint purse Carousel Pink. Let dry.
2. For purse flap, cut top, bottom, and one long side of remaining cereal box. Use decorative-edge scissors to trim flap edges. Measure and mark 1/4″x4″ slit (for mailbox opening) on flap and top of purse.
3. For purse handles, trace 8″ circle on remaining piece of cereal box scrap. Trace 6″ circle on center of 8″ circle. Cut out center 6″ circle. Cut circle in half, creating two handles.
4. Paint flap and handles Lamp Black. Let dry.
5. Use alphabet stamps and inkpad to stamp name on bottom of purse.
6. Use machine and flowers die to cut flowers from pink and red felt. Cut additional flowers from cereal box scraps. Paint flowers Baby Pink and Pink Chiffon. Let dry.
7. Layer flowers together, alternating colors. Use hole punch to punch hole on center of flowers; insert pearl brad and bend ends on back.
8. Glue purse flap on top of box, lining up mail slit. Glue flowers along purse flap.
9. Use hole punch to punch two holes, centered, along top edges of purse and along handle ends. Insert pearl brad into handle holes and into purse holes; bend ends on inside.
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