LOVEBUG BROOCH

I made one of these ladybugs in first grade, and decades later, my mother still pins it on. Although this project is easy enough for young kids to make nearly independently, the finished product looks quite sophisticated and even prettier than the usual macaroni jewelry many moms get on Valentine's Day.

MATERIALS
Plaster of Paris
Plastic spoon
Safety pin
Red and black acrylic paints
Small paintbrush
Clear varnish (optional)

Help your child mix up the plaster, then fill and level off the spoon. (Since you have to mix up a batch of plaster, you may want to make a few lovebugs at a time.) Place the safety pin into the wet plaster so that it opens out. Allow the plaster to harden for about an hour. Your child can pop out the brooch and paint it red. Using the black paint and small brush (or cotton swab, if that's easier), she can draw eyes, wings and a head on the lovebug; then she can cover the wings with hearts. If your child makes other brooches, she may want to decorate them with flowers, faces or simple designs. To seal in the colors, a parent can apply a protective coating of clear varnish.

A PIECE OF MY HEART

The clandestine planning behind this valentine surprise is a thrill for kids, who love nothing more than being in on a secret. A good project for a child and parent to make together, this treasure hunt features puzzle-piece clues that lead to a surprise. At the end, the valentine can assemble the clues into a heart-shaped card.

The first step is to plot out your quest. Brainstorm a list of five hiding places, then make up clues to lead your valentine to each one. A sample of clues might go as follows: "1. Start your quest with the story I love best" (in GOODNIGHT MOON); "2. The jar full of treats holds a tip that is neat" (in the cookie jar); "3. Find hint number 3 where it's cold as can be" (in the freezer); "4. Look for a clue in the game I play with you" (in the checkers set); "5. Go to where you lay your head to find a surprise that's valentine's red" (under the bed).

Once you've chosen your clues, cut a large heart out of red card stock or construction paper and have your child write a greeting on one side. Cut the heart into five puzzle-piece shapes. Now, on the reverse side of each one, write a clue. Place the surprise (a flower or candy) in the final hiding spot, then work backward, hiding a clue in each location. Place the first clue in an envelope and deliver it to your valentine.

VICTORIAN GREETING CARD

Nineteenth-century grandparents may have worn hoopskirts and spats, but in many respects they were the same as their modern-day counterparts. They doted on their grandchildren and crowded their piano tops with daguerreotype likenesses of those little faces. Borrow a Victorian traditionstand-up cards held together with ribbonand treat your modern grandparents (or other doting souls) to photos of their favorite kids.

MATERIALS
Hole punch
12 5 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch sheets of sturdy paper
Thin ribbon
Glue and photos of your child
Decorations, such as paper doilies and stickers

Punch two holes in the 8 1/2-inch edges of each piece of paper. Lay two of the pieces next to each other and tie them together with short lengths of ribbon. Tie each piece of paper to another piece until you have a chain of all 12. Arrange and glue your photos on the paper sections. Glue on decorations and label the photos with handwritten messages. To make the card stand up, tie together the first and last sections of the card, arranging the panels into a star shape.

CUPID FINGER PUPPET

Cupid, the passionate son of Venus, is said to pierce the hearts of lovers on Valentine's Day. This playful puppet, appropriate for even the very young, is more likely to bestow kisses than arrows.

MATERIALS
Pink felt
Scissors and glue
Pipe cleaners
1-inch wooden bead
Paint and a small paintbrush
Yarn

Cut a small felt rectangle for the body. Roll into a tube (leaving room for a finger inside) and glue in place. Cut two short lengths of pipe cleaner and glue a piece of felt around each one (leaving a bit of pipe cleaner sticking out the end of each "arm"). Cut out wings from layers of felt and glue them on the back. For Cupid's head, bend a pipe cleaner in half, push the bent end inside the bead, glue in place and let dry. Poke scissor holes into the body for the arms and attach them by bending the pipe cleaner ends up inside the body. Attach the head in this fashion and coil a piece of pipe cleaner around the neck like a turtleneck shirt. Now you can paint Cupid's face and glue on some yarn hair. Form his bow and arrow out of pipe cleaners and thread, then glue them between his arms.

LOVERS' KNOT

In heraldry, this knot got its name because its shape is so continuousa metaphor for eternal love. Sailors, with their expertise in knots, also found the figure-eight form romantic: In olden times, a sailor in love might send his sweetheart a loosely tied lovers' knot in hopes that she would return it snugly drawn up, signaling that she loved him, too. (If she returned the knot as he sent it, their relationship was static; if she undid the knot, their romance was unraveled.)

MATERIALS
A length of rope or cord, 24 inches or longer

Fold the length of cord in half and lay it flat on a table, with the folded end nearest you. Loosely tie an overhand knot in the left strand. Take hold of the right strand and thread the end up through the first overhand knot, back toward you, then under itself again to form a second overhand knot. You should now have two intertwined overhand knots. To tighten, hold the loop and pull both ends simultaneously.

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