DIY: Clothespin Butterfly Valentines - "You Make My Heart Flutter, Valentine!"

 

"Love is like a butterfly:  It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes."  ~Author Unknown

 

My son is in a Kindergarten and 1st grade combo class this year and he's super excited to make Valentine's for all of his classmates.  We originally had our heart set on making glow stick lightsabers, but none of the dollar stores had the right size glow sticks.  And then I saw THIS picture on Pinterest and knew that these "I 'chews' you!" chomper Valentines would be perfect! 

"I chews you" Valentines with butterflies above.

So, we bought the materials and started putting the "chomper" Valentines together, but he kept making butterflies out of the heart shapes that we were punching out. And he repeatedly asked me if we could make butterfly Valentines for the girls in his class.  I was trying to distract him, because the last thing I wanted to do was make a second and different set of Valentines!  But he persisted, and kept showing me this shape...

It was so cute, and I thought he was so sweet to want to make butterflies for the girls, "because I don't think the girls will like the chompers, Mommy."  So I finally took the two heart shapes and grabbed a clothespin to try and figure out how we could afix the "wings" to the clothespin to make it appear to flutter, sort of in the same vein as making the heart chompers "chomp".  Then I came up with these:

You can make your own, too!  You will need the following materials:

* Clothespins - I found a bag of 50 count at Walmart for $2.  I'm sure the dollar stores have them, too.
* Colored paper - cardstock, construction, regular paper, all work, too!
* Glue - I ran out of white glue, so I used this E6000 craft glue. Glue from a glue stick might not have a strong enough adhesive to keep the wings attached to the clothespin. 
* Heart punch or scissors - If you're doing a batch of 30 then a heart punch will make your life easier, but you can always cut out hearts the old fashioned way, too.  Just fold paper and cut out a 1/2 heart shape.   I picked this heart punch up at Joanne's craft store, and it measures about 1 1/2" across. I'm sure that Michael's and Hobby Lobby have this heart punch, as well.  Don't forget your coupon! 

Step 1:
Punch, or cut out, the heart-shaped "wings".  You will need 2 hearts per person.  So, if you have a list of 30 kids that will receive these Valentines, you will need 60 hearts.

Step 2:
Fold the lower tip of the heart, up, so that the lower tip's point lays 1/2 way from the fold, to the bottom of the upper point:

 

Optional step:  This is when my OCD kicks in.  If you're a perfectionist like me, try to get both sides of the wing-folds to match, so that once you glue them to the clothespin the "wings" will be even.  And keep them in pairs, so that they stay matchy-matchy!  

Step 3:
Glue the wings on to the clothespins!

Apply glue to the following spots, on both sides:

Step 4: Attach the heart "wings" to the clothespin, making sure not to close the clothespin, with the wet glue on it, until you have both wings attached.  This will prevent the glue from getting on the first heart "wing" and keep it from sticking once you release and close it.

Keep the fold on the heart "wing" aligned with the corner on the clothespin.  Be sure to center the heart "wing" lower tip onto the clothespin.

Step 5:
Let dry.  Admire your work.  :) 

Step 6:
Attach the tag!

You can attach a tag to the final product, with a clever saying, or you can even write on the clothespin itself.

Here are some links to some free Valentine tag downloads that you can cut or punch out:

HERE: Lemon Drop - You Make My Heart Flutter Valentine + Free Printable
HERE: Catch My Party - A variety of free Valentine's day themed printables
HERE: Sassy Dealz - You Make My Heart Flutter free printable

And here are some cute sayings, butterfly related, if you want to make your own tags:

"You make my heart flutter, Valentine!"
"Come fly with me, Valentine!"
"Your love gives me butterflies, Valentine!"
"You give me butterflies, Valentine!"
"You set my heart aflutter, Valentine!"
"Sending you "butterfly kisses", Valentine!"
"Fluttering by to say, Happy Valentine's Day!"
"I'm up in the air for you, Valentine!"

Free Downloads:
I put together a couple of tag templates for you to download, for free!  You can use a 1 1/2" circle punch. 

     * I "chews" you, Valentine!

Download this template HERE

     * Come fly with me, Valentine!

Download this template HERE

     * Blank!

Download this template HERE

I almost forgot to mention one of the most important things about these clothespin Valentines!  I love that they are non-candy!  I'm positive that the kids are going to get tons of candy on the 14th, so I like to try to do non-candy Valentines.  Although, I think a piece of candy would look so cute in the Chomper's teeth! 

I'd love to see how yours turns out!  Please post your links in the comments! 

Have fun and have a happy Valentine's day!!