Handmade Class Valentines

It’s easy to go to the store and pick out a pack of candy hearts, write everyone’s name on them, and drop them on your classmates’ desks for Valentine's Day. So ho hum! Make it fun and memorable with these easy, inexpensive, and personal gifts that take just minutes to make.

Pink Rice Krispies Treats

The secret to making ordinary Rice Krispies Treats pink lies in a few drops of food coloring, but you could also get a lovely pink tint by using pink marshmallows or a 1.5 ounce packet of strawberry Jell-o mix. Note that the Jell-o version will taste like strawberries, while the red food coloring and pink marshmallows won’t add any additional flavor.

If Rice Krispies Treats aren't your thing, click to check out these awesome Valentine's Day Cookie Decorating Tips!

All the ingredients you'll need for tasty pink Rice Krispies TreatsCourtesy of For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows (1 bag)
• 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
• 3-5 drops of red food coloring

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave for 45 seconds in a microwave-safe bowl. 
2. Add the mini-marshmallows and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, taking the bowl out and stirring between each time until the butter and marshmallows are a smooth, gooey mess. 
3. Add 3 drops of food coloring and stir it in completely. Add more food coloring a drop at a time until you get a nice pink color. 
4. Quickly add the Rice Krispies and stir until the cereal is evenly coated with the gooey pink mixture. 
5. Coat a large, 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray then pour the mixture into the baking dish. Spray a piece of wax paper with cooking spray, then use the paper to mash the treats down into the dish evenly.
6. Let them cool for 5 minutes before using cookie cutters to cut them into heart shapes. Wrap each heart individually in a plastic baggie or cling wrap. 

Pink Heart Rice Krispies TreatsCourtesy of Your Cup of Cake

Heart-Shaped Tie-Dye Crayons

Got leftover crayons? Who doesn’t! Put them to good use and give them a new life as heart-shaped Valentines for your whole class. If you can’t find a silicone heart-shaped cupcake pan, you can also use a regular cupcake tin lined with paper cupcake liners, but they will turn out round and not heart-shaped. Spread 1/8 teaspoon of glitter at the bottom of each mold before adding the crayons to add extra sparkle to the tops of your crayons.

Click here for more school supply crafts you can tweak with a Valentine's Day theme.

Present your tie-dye crayon creations on an un-lined notecard and don't forget to sign your name.Courtesy of Morning Noo Night

Ingredients:

• A box of 64 or more old crayons
• A heart-shaped silicone mold (from a crafts store)
• Glitter (optional)

Directions:

1. Remove the paper from the crayons and throw out the paper.
2. Break up the crayons into small pieces. If you crush the crayons completely, the colors will melt together. Larger pieces will result in more distinct color patterns.
3. Sort the crayons into piles of similar colors.
4. Place a mix of colors into each heart shape. As a rule, the following colors look nice together: greens and yellows; blues and purples; pinks and reds; oranges and yellows; red pink and white. But feel free to mix it up a little.
5. Bake the mold in the oven at 250 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the crayons have melted and formed a solid shape in the mold.
6. Carefully remove the mold from the oven and wait for the crayons to cool before popping them out of the mold.

Gooey Glittery Slime

Everyone loves to play with slime. Make a batch for your class using ordinary white school glue like Elmer’s Glue and ordinary liquid laundry detergent. You will need about 1/8 of a cup of glue and 1 tablespoon of detergent for every person, along with a snack-sized ziplock baggie to deliver the gooey goods. Add a dash of red food coloring to make it valentine-colored and a splash of glitter to add to the fun!

How to Make Slime without Borax - Easy Silly Putty!

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup of Elmer’s Glue for each serving
• 1 tablespoon ordinary liquid laundry detergent, like tide. 
• Red food coloring (optional)
• Glitter (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix together the glue and detergent. Keep mixing until it forms slime. Add food coloring and glitter.
2. Separate it into equal portions and deliver it in sealed zip-lock baggies.

Click here for an alternate recipe that uses Borax instead of laundry detergent.

Origami Jumping Frogs

Origami is fun to make, and these origami frogs are actually interactive. You can make them jump! You and your classmates will have a lot of fun jumping your frogs together at recess. Print out the step-by-step instructions in the image below so your classmates will know how to make them, too. 

To make the origami jumping frogs, you’ll need paper in the shape of a rectangle — about 3”x5” or 4” x 6”. Origami paper comes in different thickness, and your frogs will jump better if you use thicker paper. If you don’t have origami paper, a great substitute is the cheap, un-lined file cards or notecards you can get at the dollar store or heavy-weight printer paper cut into 3”x5” rectangles. Not recommended: regular weight note cards, which are too thick, and ordinary construction paper, which can fall apart when you fold it. 

Follow the instructions in the image below. Your first few frogs may take a little longer, but once you get the hang of it, you can make an origami frog in just over a minute!

Origami jumping frogs are not just cute, they're fun to play with, too

Cupid’s Arrows

These cute Cupid’s Arrows take moments to make, are super cute, and they’re tasty, too. All you need is a  bag of pretzel sticks and a bag of heart-shaped gummies — sweet or sour, your choice. Place 3-4 edible arrows in a snack bag and give one to each of your classmates for a unique and tasty homemade treat.

These cute treats can be sour or sweet, depending on how you really feel about Valentine's DayCourtesy of Glitter and Bubbles

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of pretzel sticks
• 1 bag of heart-shaped gummies
• Optional: rainbow sour belt candies
• Plastic knife or butter knife

Directions:

1. Place a heart on one end of each pretzel stick to form the arrow.
2. For the other end, cut a notch into the heart to make a v-shape. It should look like the feathered or “fletched” end of the arrow. If you’re using sour belt candies instead, use the knife to cut the belt into a v-shape, and carve little notches in the end to make it look like a feather.
3. Stick the v-shape candy on the other end of the pretzel to finish the arrow. 

Have Your Say

Do you have other fun ideas for homemade class treats? What’s the best class valentine treat you’ve ever seen? Share your ideas in the comments below.