Valentines Day

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We had lots of fun stamping with these DIY heart shaped stamps which we made from – you guessed it – toilet paper rolls!

Make Heart Shaped Stamps from toilet paper rolls

Our two year and three month old toddler Bee has been really interested in heart and star shapes lately, and this interest is what inspired this particular process-orientated art session. (But with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, heart shapes conveniently fit with that theme too!)

Toddler valentines activity - stamping hearts using diy heart shaped stampers

Heart Stamping for toddlers with easy DIY stampers ~ Danya Banya

We’ve used TP rolls as stampers previously. We used them to make Hungry Caterpillar inspired stamp paintings, to make our own wrapping paper using a DIY Christmas bauble stamper, and to create fireworks art in anticipation of the real thing on New Years Eve.

Cardboard rolls, such as toilet paper, paper towel or gift wrap roll (cut to size) make really good DIY stampers for toddlers and preschoolers.

  • They are free.
  • They are readily available.
  • They encourage kids to think about reusing (or re-purposing), rather than buying something new.
  • You can create all sorts of shapes.
  • Their length gives enough room for little kids to use one end as a ‘handle’.

They may even be able to wield two!

Wielding two heart stampers - great way for toddlers to use both sides of the brain at once

Toddler valentines art becomes sensory

And of course, no toddler painting session is complete without a bit of sensory finger painting. It’s at about this point that you can tell she’s focusing more on how the paint feels squishing under her palms, than concerning herself with such minor details as how her art project with look. (I think that’s the difference between toddlers and adults really.)

Fun!

Would you like to make some heart shape stamps too? All you need is a cardboard tube and tape. Let me show you…

How to make a heart shape stamp

And then you have a beautiful piece of heart art for you to stick on the fridge door (or perhaps turn into a Valentine’s Day card??)

Heart shaped stamps for Valentines Day art for toddlers

Here are some of our other TP roll posts:

Advent Calendar (made from loo rolls) The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cardboard Roll Craft TP Roll Dolls DIY bauble stamper from toilet paper rolls Toddler valentines activity - stamping hearts using diy heart shaped stampers DIY Glitter Party Poppers! Perfect for kids parties or New Years Eve ~ Danya Banya Fireworks painting using DIY toilet paper roll stampers The Very Hungry Caterpillar inspired cardboard roll paintings Emo Dolls - for empathetic play DIY Emo Santa Meet Frosty the Emo Doll Holly the Emo Christmas Fairy

And I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to this versatile craft material!

Follow Danya Banya’s board Loo (and other Cardboard) Rolls! on Pinterest.

Or for more Valentine’s Day related posts, you might also like these (click on the images to go to the full post).

Heart Art from sticks and recyclables Valentines Day Art for Toddlers - Stamping with Sponge Hearts Hand sewn heart and star decorations. Rose Scented Play Dough

xx Danya

Heart Stamping for toddlers with easy DIY stampers ~ Danya Banya

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Once upon a time (about exactly a year ago), I forked out a relatively small amount of dosh for some chunky toddler fairy stampers and a red stamp pad. When I got home, I looked at the new stamp pad, and realised that fairies aren’t always red. And I thought ‘I could totally DIY different coloured versions of this myself’. (I was a bit unsure about the whole ‘making things from scratch without a tutorial’ thing back then…)

So I googled, found enough examples to reassure me, and headed off to the discount shops to buy some thin kitchen sponges (the cheaper the better), some plastic containers with lids (why didn’t I use recycled??) and some acrylic paint. Continue reading Valentines Stamp Art for Toddlers (with sensory play)

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Rose Scented No Cook Play Dough

This is the best play dough (playdough? play-dough? play-doh?) that I’ve ever made. Actually, I’ll raise that – this is the best play dough that we’ve ever played with.

JJ helped me make it. Measuring out 2 cups of this, 1/2 a cup of that, and a tablespoon of something else – all great meaningful maths practise. Plus she loved it!

Rose Scented Play Dough

I used this no cook play dough recipe from The Imagination Tree as a base, except that I added red food colouring and a few tablespoons of Queen Natural Rosewater Flavouring Essence (which I think is similar to this one (aff link*) and decreased the water component slightly to compensate.

Check out the colour and the texture. It is smooth, soft and pliable. And the rose scent makes this an extra sensory experience.

Play Dough and Heart Shaped Cookie Cutters

I thought it would be fun to set out heart shaped cookie cutters and pink beads as an invitation to play.

An invitation to play with play dough heart cookie cutters and beads

JJ was so excited to play with this play dough. She kept smelling and ahhing like a gourmet. Both the cookie cutters and the beads were a hit.

Playing and creating hearts with Play Dough

When JJ had finished making heart shapes, she started to roleplay that she was a baker and was making current buns. A few renditions of “Five Current Buns from a Baker’s Shop” may have been sung. She hid beads inside balls of dough to represent the currents.

Valentines Day play with rose scented play dough

Then she decided that she was a tailor, and the beads were buttons. Here she is making me a new jacket.

Playing with play dough and beads

And yes, I then had to wear it.

She played with just the play dough, beads, heart shapes & her imagination for a good half an hour, before changing it up a little and introducing her animals to the play session. Here she is making elephant footprints (something she’s remembered from previous play dough play sessions).

Making elephant footprints in playdough

And of course my foot-obsessed lass also put the play dough on the floor so she could make her own footprints and feel the sensation of the cool play dough on her toes.

This particular batch of play dough was played with over and over and over again for weeks. I kept it in an airtight container, and it didn’t dry out at all. It would have lasted much longer, except that it ended up full of grit and crumbs from a few outside and lunch play sessions.

One of the fears I’d had of making my own play dough was that it would stain the carpet. But I can confess that some small bits were walked into the carpet, and I was able to pick them off the following day (after they’d had time to dry out) and there was no stain.

And having a big batch of the one colour is actually easier for little kids than storing various colours in lots of little tubs.

Hmmm, I’m seriously doubting whether I’ll bother with store bought play dough again!

 

Edit: We’ve made HEAPS of play dough since I wrote this post! You can find them all on my Play Ideas page, including:

 

And I pin lots more on my Messy & Sensory Play pinterest board.

 

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xx Danya

 

* Some of the products we have in Australia are not available internationally, so I’ve added in a (cheeky affiliate) link to help clarify. An affiliate link means I may earn a commission or referral fee if you make a purchase through my link, without any extra cost to you. It helps to keep this little blog afloat. Thanks for your support.

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