Easy DIY Valentines Cards Using Simple Folded Paper Hearts

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and, to be honest, I’ve never been one to go all out with it. But having kids around Valentine’s Day has shifted my focus on the holiday a little. Because kids, especially elementary school kids, seem to get really excited about exchanging Valentines. Some years we’ve bought pre-made Valentines and some years we’ve made our own easy DIY Valentines. This year my girls really wanted to go the Make Your Own Valentines route so I gathered up some supplies and came up with a few easy ideas that you and your kids can do together. And all of the easy DIY Valentines ideas here use the simplest of old-school Valentines ideas – folded paper hearts. You know, the kind where you fold a piece of paper in half, cut out a half-heart shape, and open it up to reveal a perfectly symmetrical heart.

If you head to the bottom of this post you’ll see I’ve teamed up with a few blogging friends to bring you 28 Valentines ideas – everything from crafts to recipes to decor – so make sure you scroll all the way down to see all of the fun ideas! A big thank you to Jennifer from Town and Country Living for organizing the group.

Here’s a general list of supplies you need to make easy DIY Valentines with 3D folded paper hearts:

Multicolored cardstock paper
Paper cutter (optional but makes the cutting go MUCH faster)
Ultra-fine point Sharpies
Ruler
Gold scissors (they don’t have to be gold…but why not?!)
Fast tack glue
Valentine’s Day washi tape

Since the 3D paper hearts are the centerpiece of all of the designs I came up with, here’s a quick look at how to make them for any easy DIY Valentines you decide to make.

First, cut strips of paper from the cardstock that are 2 3/4″ wide and 8 1/2″ long (the width of the original paper). This process goes MUCH faster if you use a paper cutter! Fold each of the paper strips in half lengthwise.

Draw a half heart shape across the folded side of one strip and cut out your first heart, then use that heart (folded in half) as the template for your other hearts so they’re all the same size and shape. Trace additional half-heart shapes down the folded edge of your cardstock strips.

Cut all of the traced shapes out and slightly open the paper hearts.

Before you glue any of the hearts on you should have your card design sketched or drawn on a card so you know where you want the 3D heart to go. When you’re ready to apply the heart on the card spread a line of fast tack glue down the outside of the heart’s folded edge.

Glue 3-5 hearts in the same or varying colors onto each card. Once you place the folded heart onto the card you can adjust the position of it, but you want to keep the folded edges of the hearts all together to get that 3D effect.

Here’s a closer look at the finished cards I made. Our plan is to washi tape a Valentine’s mechanical pencil (shown in the arrow Valentine photo) onto each card for my daughters’ classmates since there’s a nothing edible policy at their school for Valentines.

We’ve been having lots of fun making these easy DIY Valentines and they’re coming out so cute! Make sure you click through the rest of the Valentine’s ideas below for more fun ideas for how to bring a little Valentine’s Day festivity into your house.

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