Have fun making Easy Paper Accordion Heart Valentines with the kids! They can use them to make cute cards for friends at school or string them as a garland for a Valentine’s Day party!
Jump to:
- Craft Alert: Easy Paper Accordion Hearts!
- Supplies for a Heart Accordion
- Steps to Make a Heart
- Craft Tips for How to Make Accordion Paper Hearts
- Craft Variations on Accordion Hearts
- FAQ about the Accordion Heart Craft
- More DIY Valentine Crafts for Kids
- Come join the fun at WTN!
- More Crafting!
- Make Easy Paper Accordion Heart Valentines
Craft Alert: Easy Paper Accordion Hearts!
When I was young, I think I accordion folded every program I ever received! It liked folding the paper back and forth and then fanning it out. We've used the accordion fold for multiple crafts around Welcome to Nana's, like when we learned how to make an Agamograph!
I knew there must be a way to make an accordion folded heart as well!
Folded hearts are an fun twist on traditional valentines and even easier to do than I thought! You will find so many ways to use these hearts like in cards, garlands, or wreaths.
Let me know what the kids create with their folded hearts!
Supplies for a Heart Accordion
You don’t need many supplies to bring these cute, folded Valentines to life!
- Paper- Use 8.5 x 11-inch colored paper, construction paper, or scrapbook paper to make accordion hearts. Be creative and try cupcake liners or coffee filters too!
- Glue- Tacky Glue works well or use a glue stick or hot glue.
- Plate- A dinner plate or saucer-sized plate makes the pattern for the accordion hearts.
- Colored markers- Use colored markers to write messages on the cards.
- Other supplies: You may also use a pen, scissors, tape, string or ribbon, or a bone folder.
Steps to Make a Heart
Lay the 8.5 x 11-inch paper down on your work surface in the landscape direction (horizontal). Center a dinner plate over the paper. Draw around the plate where it sits on the paper. Cut it out on the lines.
Fold the paper accordion style with about ½ inch folds from one straight edge to the other of the paper. Crease the folds well. Fold the flat folded strip in half and crease well.
Glue the two center-folded edges of the heart together with Tacky Glue. Hold the valentine until the glue sets.
Gently fan out the heart and gently pull on the folds that stick together. Make a variety of colors, patterns (scrapbook paper), and sizes.
Personalize the heart
Cut out a rectangle from paper. Use colored markers to write a name or message on the paper and glue it onto the front of the heart.
Accordion heart card
Glue the heart onto a flat piece of paper. Write a message on the paper and give it as a card.
Accordion heart garland
Tape the hearts onto a string or ribbon and hang it up as a garland.
Accordion heart wreath
Glue a series of variety of accordion hearts onto a cardboard circle. Hang it up as a wreath.
Craft Tips for How to Make Accordion Paper Hearts
- Glue- Tacky Glue worked well because it set quickly but I could move the paper around if needed. If you use hot glue, only use a narrow strip so it doesn’t seep out and burn your fingers.
- Gluing the flaps- Only glue the small center fold of the heart flaps and don’t use too much glue. The glue can glue areas that prevent the folds from opening fully.
- Bone folder- A bone folder tool makes creasing papers easy.
Craft Variations on Accordion Hearts
Here are a few variations you’re welcome to try with this Valentine’s Day craft:
- Half-sized hearts- Cut the 8.5 x 11-inch paper in half and use a saucer-sized plate to draw around. This makes a smaller-sized heart for cards.
- Coffee filters- Use water-based markers to color on a coffee filter. Spray with a little water. Let this dry. Then accordion fold the filter to make a heart.
- Cupcake liners- Accordion fold a colorful cupcake liner into a small heart.
FAQ about the Accordion Heart Craft
The instructions in this post and the tutorial video walk you through step by step. This accordion heart craft will be easy for you and your kids! Draw around a plate on a piece of paper and then cut it out.
Accordion fold the paper from one straight edge to the opposite straight edge. Fold this in half and glue the two small center flaps together. Fan it out into a heart shape.
Give them as they are, glue them to a card, make a garland, or make a wreath.
You can use colored copy paper, scrapbook paper, cupcake liners, or coffee filters! Make a variety of sizes and colors.
More DIY Valentine Crafts for Kids
Looking for more easy Valentine’s Day crafts to try? Here are a few of our favorites:
Come join the fun at WTN!
Try this craft, leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.
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Make Easy Paper Accordion Heart Valentines
Equipment
- none needed
Items Required
- 8.5 x 11-inch colored paper, construction paper, or scrapbook paper try cupcake liners or coffee filters too!
- Tacky Glue glue stick or hot glue
- A dinner plate or saucer-sized plate
- colored markers
- pen, scissors, tape, string or ribbon, or a bone folder.
Instructions
- Lay the 8.5 x 11-inch paper down on your work surface in the landscape direction (horizontal). Center a dinner plate over the paper. Draw around the plate where it sits on the paper. Cut it out on the lines.
- Fold the paper accordion style with about ½ inch folds from one straight edge to the other of the paper. Crease the folds well. Fold the flat folded strip in half and crease well.
- Glue the two center-folded edges of the heart together with Tacky Glue. Hold the valentine until the glue sets.
- Gently fan out the heart and gently pull on the folds that stick together. Make a variety of colors, patterns (scrapbook paper), and sizes.
- Personalize the heart and/or use it in a product. Ideas are on the post. Make smaller accordion heart, make them from other materials, add them to cards, make garlands, make a wreath.
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