How to Make a Valentine's Day Card Holder

Every year, kids take their Valentine's Day cards to school and bring home Valentine's from all the other kids in their class. When combined with Valentine's Day parties, it can be difficult to keep up with all the Valentine's Day cards. This Valentine's Day card holder is not only fun to make, but it keeps the Valentines and other similar goodies neat and orderly. Here are the instructions.

First, you will need to have different Valentine's Day cutouts. These can be any style you want, and the kids should take time to decorate it. The internet is full of different Valentine's Day cutouts, and kids can have fun coloring, painting, or applying glitter to it. Also, if you have a laminating machine, or you can take it to be laminated, this craft will stand up to abuse year after year. After you have completed the shapes, you will need to use a hole puncher, and make a small hole in the top of each one.

Next, you will want to get about 10-20 clothes-pins and a dowel rod. This can be any diameter, but you will want it to be sturdy enough that it won't break too easily, and thin enough that it won't come crashing down to the floor with its weight. Cut the dowel rod to make it 12 inches long. Tie strings through the holes in the spring of the clothes-pins so that they hang at different heights, and then back to the top of the dowel rod. Also make sure to tie the Valentine's Day shapes throughout, so that they hang down with the Valentines. The best way to ensure that they stay on is to drill small holes throughout the dowel rod. Tie the strings through these small holes so that they will not slide off the ends of the dowel rod. Otherwise, you can get two sets of closet bar hangers and use the end that has a complete circle. Screw these into the ends of the dowel rod.

Next, to make an easy way for it to be hung from a desk, take a piece of ribbon and tie it to the ends. This will create a hanger, so that it can be hung from the middle of the ribbon. Another method if this is being made at school, involves using a long piece of ribbon that can reach all the way around the desk. Attach velcro to each end of the ribbon, and loop the ribbon around the center of the dowel rod. Then it just velcros around the desk and the ribbon can be removed later if it is unnecessary.

One way to customize it even further is to use beads along the strings. Kids will have a lot of fun stringing the beads. Pony beads are best for this type of craft, and they can be found at many different kinds of stores. One type of bead that will make it very unique is to use initial beads so that kids can spell out their names.

The way to use this craft is simple. Each kid that comes by uses a clothespin to clip their Valentine so that it hangs down from the bar. It's not only easy to use, but a unique way to display them. Adults can make a more sophisticated version of this craft by using more sophisticated materials.

Make sure to get your kids involved in making it. It's the kind of craft kids love, and it is a good way to spend some quality time with them. These Valentine holders are a great craft for kids to make at school so that everybody can collect their Valentines with them. Their parents will even be impressed when they come home with such a great looking craft.