secret message valentines: homemade, candy-free, totally cool

Longtime fans of the ole homemade Valentine, I’ve had to get a little more clever and crafty as the kids get older.

But I still want them writing, reading, and thinking (come on. . . at least a little!) while they’re making them.

So when I did some Valentine searching this year, I found a ton of cool ideas.  A ton of cool ideas.

There are about a million, trillion awesome homemade Valentines out there.

But the Secret Message Valentines caught my eye. I knew Maddy, Owen, and Cora would totally love them, and they do.  They really think they’re fun.

Secret Message Valentines that are homemade, candy-free and kids still think they’re totally cool? Like a dream.

And they won’t break the bank.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Secret Message Valentines–Homemade, Candy-Free, Totally Cool:

Want to make these for this year’s rockstar Valentines? Super.

Your kids will love you.

You’ll need:

• white cardstock
• liquid watercolors
• inexpensive paintbrushes for each Valentine
• white crayon
• Secret Message Valentine template: download below

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Here’s a quick video with the ‘how-to’ for making Secret Message Valentines:

Before Maddy, Owen, Cora and I started making them, we did a whole lot of ‘message brainstorming’.  I wanted them to realize that though some of the Valentines required that they only signed their name, other ones left spaces for real secret messages.

What would those messages be? 

What should they be? 

We came up with some ideas:

Having the ideas helped, especially because messages had to be short.

And because they were writing the messages with white crayon on white paper, the messages had to be simple.

These kind of reminded me of the Scratch-Off Tickets we made a few years ago during holiday time in the way that they carried a secret message for the kids to find.

I think I just may use them for Valentine cards next year. . . hmmmmm.

What are your favorite super-cool, candy-free Valentines for kids to make? I’d love to hear ’em!

Here are a few of ours:

• Scratch Art Bookmark Valentines
• Tattoo Valentines
• Mini Stained Glass Hearts
• Happy Face and Flower Valentines (okay. . . so there’s candy in these)

HUGE and happy thanks to all the folks who came before me and made similar Valentines. Though I love this idea, I by no means invented it! I did not use one particular post as a model, but the following posts were my inspiration: SpanglishBaby Secret Message Valentines; Small + Friendly Secret Message Valentine; Secret Message Valentine Mini-Edition; Spoonful Secret Message Valentines, & more! Thank you, thank you!

Want a few more fun Valentine’s Day ideas? Check out: 

• How to throw a rockstar Valentine’s Day class party
• Valentine’s Day Class party 2.0
• Musical Hearts
• Secret Message Valentines
• Bookmark Valentines
• Scratch-Off Ticket Valentines
• Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Notes
• HEART Bingo