Think back to exchanging valentines when you were a kid. Did you make your own mailbox to collect all those cards from classmates? While valentine parties at schools today come in all shades, you can also try sharing this tradition at home. Thanks to pre-fab valentine boxes found at Target, customizing one into a hearty-happy robot is a snap. Don’t want to buy a box? Grab an empty shoebox!
Materials
- Supplies
- Plain ready-made valentine mailbox (about $3 at Target) or empty shoebox
- Silver metallic duct tape
- Construction paper in reds, pinks, whites, etc. (you’ll need black, too)
- Red pipe cleaners
- Large googly eyes
- SuperTape (half-inch width)
- Circle and heart punches
- Scissors
Directions
- Remove the box top. With the silver duct tape, start covering the box, wrapping the tape all the way around, meeting the start of the tape where you started. Continue wrapping, overlapping the layers just slightly.
- Next, wrap the top. Work around the slot so it isn’t covered with tape. (If you’re using a shoebox, cover the whole top at once and then cut a slot in the center.) Don’t forget to cover the sides of the top, too!
- To make robot peepers, punch two large circles from a circle punch and the red construction paper. Add a googly eye to each circle with SuperTape to create a secure hold. Using the SuperTape again, add the eyes to a long side of the box top.
- For the mouth, cut a rectangle from black construction paper and attach to the box with SuperTape.
- To finish, bend a red pipe cleaner in half. With your heart punch, make two hearts. (We found corrugated red paper to use for a more “industrial” look!) Attach one heart to each end of the pipe cleaner with duct tape. Attach the antennae to the back of the box top with another piece of duct tape. Now you’re ready to present your child with that very first valentine of the season!
Note: Not a robot fan? Let your child’s creativity run wild and turn the box into anything they can dream up.
