DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Heart Snail Paper Craft

Read a bit about DLTK's Grow With Me Craft Concept to get some ideas on how this basic craft idea can be used with different materials to make it appropriate for everyone from ages 2 thru 82!

Ruth wrote:
I regularly use your craft and teaching ideas in Sunday School and at my toddler group. I used the snail heart craft last week and adapted it so that instead of making the snail on paper, the children made it on to a CD. This meant they could turn it into a puppet or fridge magnet quite easily - just an idea.

Tip 1: Include the message "I 'shell' love you forever!" or "We 'shell' be friends forever!"

Tip 2: Glue the heart animal paper craft to the front of a folded over piece of construction paper or a doily to make a cute Valentine's Day card.

Tip 3: Purchase fancy paper from the scrapbooking store and print the B&W version onto this for an extra fancy Heart Animal.

Tip 4: Scotch tape a straw or popsicle stick to the bottom to make a puppet.

Tip 5: Glue a small piece of sandpaper on the back to make a felt board character.

Tip 6: Cut construction paper into 4 inch wide strips as long as you can make them. Tape two together to make even longer. Measure around child's head to make a construction paper 'crown'. Glue Heart Animal to front of the crown to make a Valentine's Day hat.

Materials:

paper,
glue,
scissors,

Instructions:

Print out the Valentine's Day template of choice.
Color (if making the black and white craft).
Cut out the template pieces. (The pieces on the template are at about the angle they will be on the finished craft. That should help you sort out which pieces belong where).
Glue pieces together:

craft instructions Glue the three hearts together one on top of the other as "centered" as you can make them. This will be your snail's shell

craft instructions Glue the snail's body underneath the shell.

craft instructions If you're attaching this to a piece of paper, draw a set of antennas and add the two tiny hearts to the tips.

Option for mass-producing - young children: Print out the B&W template. Trace the pieces onto stiff cardboard (back of paper pads works well) or margarine/ice cream container lids. Cut out to make permanent templates. Allow the children to trace these permanent templates onto different colors of construction paper to make their animal

Option for mass-producing - older children: Omit the templates. Let the children cut out heart shapes in various sizes from colored construction paper (show them how to fold paper in half and then cut to make a perfectly symmetrical heart). Let the children create their own animals by putting together hearts of different sizes (you can pre-make a few example animals to give them some inspiration).

Craft Templates:

Close template window when done printing to return to this screen.
Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Heart Snail template (color) or (B&W)

Printable version of these instructions