Heart-Shaped Wand Valentine's Day Craft

Cast a spell with this V-Day activity!

Submitted by
Sonam Adinolf

Let your kid spread a little "love juju" this Valentine's Day with a magic heart wand she can make herself.

Chopstick or popsicle stick:
A great excuse to cave into your craving for Chinese—or your kid's incessant begging for ice cream.
Felt:
Pink or red ... or purple, blue, orange, green, if your kid's a Valentine's Day non-traditionalist.
Embellishments:
Glitter, rhinestones, sequins, beads, lace—anything fun, fancy and valentine-y.
Craft glue
Cotton balls or polyester pillow stuffing
Paint:
In colors that will complement your felt.
Ribbon
Paintbrush
Scissors
Pen
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks:
Kids and hot glue don't mix, so make sure you do all the gluing!

Order in some Chinese takeout or have your kid polish off a popsicle or four (all in the name of art, right?). Make sure your sticks are free of soy sauce and/or chocolate ice cream.
Have your child decorate the stick by painting it or wrapping it with ribbon.
To wrap it, hot-glue one end of the ribbon to the bottom (thicker side) of the chopstick. Have your child paint the entire stick with white glue, and then slowly and tightly help her wrap the ribbon around the stick. Voilà, a schmancy stick!
Next, cut out two square pieces of felt and lay them on top of each other. These will be the top, heart part of the wand, so decide how big she wants her hearts in relation to the stick.
Have your kid trace a heart onto the top piece of felt, then help her cut both layers out so she has two equally sized hearts.
Carefully hot glue the edges of the two hearts together but leave around 1 to 2 inches at the bottom (the pointy part) open so you can stick some stuffing in to make the heart all nice and puffy. Let it dry for about two minutes.
Have your child stuff some cotton balls or stuffing into the hearts. Use the stick to get them all the way in there and break off smaller pieces of the cotton balls if you have to.
To seal the heart and attach the stick, squirt some hot glue inside the bottom of the heart and on the stick. Quickly (before the glue cools) shove the stick into the heart and press everything together to seal it shut.
When everything's dry, have your little cupid decorate the heart with the embellishments. You'll probably want to hot glue them on for her, but if she's itching to decorate, she can use white glue. She'll just have to be patient while it dries.
Next, help her tie some ribbons around the base of the heart, either in a bow or with a bunch streaming off the stick. Secure with a dab of hot glue.
And presto! Your kid is ready to work her magic!
On Valentine's Day, dress your cupid in a tutu (or just a diaper and a sash!) and have her spread the love by anointing everyone in sight with a little love magic.
Or, try turning a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" into "Cupid, Cupid, Valentine" by letting the kids use the wand to gently tap all the players on the head as they play.
Then, when the kids go to bed, maybe you can make an extra wand for yourself and conjure up a little love magic with your honey. ...