Crafts for Kids: Paper Plate Valentine's Day Card Holder

Your child can make a cute paper plate card holder to hold all their Valentine's Day cards that they get at school or from their family and friends. This Valentine's Day card holder is quite easy to make so it's a good craft for younger kids. It's also a craft that lets a child get creative with decorating so it's also a good craft for older kids. Mom and dad can get in on the fun too!

Start by looking at this image to get an idea of what this completed craft might look like. Your card holder will have the same basic shape, but it will be decorated any way you want. Here is another version, and yet another version (this last one is quite beautiful). As you can see, the possibilities are endless!

To start this craft, you will need two paper plate. You can use white paper plates or you can use red plastic plates. You can use the typical 10 inch size plates, or you can make mini card holders by using the smaller, dessert size paper plates. The smaller versions can be hung around your child's neck which is very convenient if collecting Valentine's Day cards at school.

Cut one plate in half (save the other half for another card holder). Then, using this image as a guide, place the half paper plate on top of the whole paper plate and punch holes all around. Then pass ribbon through the holes to hold the half plate to the whole plate, forming a pocket. You could also glue the half plate to the whole plate or staple it and skip the ribbon step. No matter how you put the plates together, you will want to pass a ribbon, yarn or any cord through the top and form a loop so you can hang the card holder on the wall, or around your child's neck.

Now that your basic card holder is assembled, all you have to do is decorate it. You can draw hearts using crayons or markers. You can also decorate with stickers. You might also want to make your own cut outs and glue those on. You can cut our heart shapes from red construction paper or from magazine pages. You can also cut out other Valentine's Day pictures that you might find in magazines and glue those on. Or, as you can see in this image, you can write your name on cut outs and glue those on for decoration.

You can also decorate your Valentine's Day card holder by adding lace, ribbon, bows, buttons, gemstones, pom poms or whatever craft items you have on hand. Now matter how you decorate the plates, the card holder will be beautiful!