Ice-Heart Valentine Craft Tutorial

A simple and inepensive craft to do with toddler through elementary school age children.

SUPPLIES:

Water or juice

Heart Shaped Ice-Cube Trays

Food Coloring (if using water)

Small pitcher or cup for pouring water

Freezer

Pour water into a small pitcher or cup.  Add food coloring (sparingly) to water.  You can experiment with the shade you choose by adding more or less food coloring to the water, or, by using different juices.  Cherry juice would make a good red, grape juice will make purple.  For example - we added less dye to make a pinkish hue.

Pour colored water into the heart ice cube trays.

Place water-filled trays into the freezer to make ice.

Once the hearts are frozen, remove trays from freezer, and pop ice cubes out into a pan.

Child can eat the ice cubes or play with them.  However, please note that the food-coloring will slightly stain hands and clothes.  So, dress for mess!  It is non-toxic, and part of the fun if you ask me.

If there is snow outside, you can place them gently onto the surface of the snow to decorate your landscape!

This project was adapted from an idea that a friend, who was a school teacher before becoming a Mom, passed on to me.  She used cookie cutters, rather than ice cube trays. This method will create a bigger frozen shape.  She used an old aluminum pie tin, molded to snugly fit the cookie cutter, to hold the water in.  I think aluminum foil would probably work just as well.  Before freezing - she would add dental floss to the water, at the top of the shape.  When frozen, the hearts could be hung from trees, railings, etc. outside!  What fun!