So I went to Etsy and searched for Valentine + Fish + Bowl and it came up with five different shops who sell almost the same item.
I just picked the first one I saw, which happened to be this shop here.
You have to purchase everything else.
Will it look as professional as the Etsy ones?
Nope.
But it’s for my daughter’s preschool class, so I don’t want it to look professional.
Because, you know.
She’s five.
This is what you will need:
– Swedish Fish (Wal-Mart has them in the candy aisle)
– Clear round bags (Michael’s has them in the candy making aisle)
– Blue scrapbook paper (I got mine at Hobby Lobby but most craft stores have this)
Then, take a rusty circle cookie cutter.
Oh okay, I guess it doesn’t have to be rusty.
Whatever.
Trace a circle onto the blue scrapbook paper.
Then I took a red sharpie marker and wrote the above on it.
School of fish/ preschool?
I saw this idea on Etsy or something like it so I can’t take credit for this.
The following is the brutal honesty I am known for here on my blog.
It is no secret in these parts that I have some skills that are lacking.
I have the handwriting of a serial killer, my cursive is a hybrid of cursive and block letters, and I cannot cut a straight line to save my life.
Evidence:
All me.
She actually cuts better than I do.
I have a “thing” for little hands creating projects.
Oops, now everyone knows what they are getting for Valentine’s Day.
Act surprised when it comes in the mail.
So the Etsy paper insert ranged from $3.50 to $6.00 for a pack of only five inserts.
But here is my cost rundown:
– Scrapbook paper = 50 cents ( I got mine at Michael’s and they had a 50% off sale when I bought these)
– Swedish Fish = $6.00 for three packages (Walmart)
– Clear baggies = $4.99 regular price at Michael’s. But 100 come in the package so I know I will use these for something else. If you are smart, you will use the weekly coupon that comes in Michael’s ads for 40% off a regular price item which will make this $2.00 cheaper
Grand total = $11.49 to create 20 homemade Valentines
Which breaks down to 57 cents a Valentine!
If I had purchased the Etsy inserts, it would have cost me $25 more which I never would have spent, to begin with.
I mean come on, it’s Valentine’s for a preschooler!
I probably won’t do this again but this is her first year of school and wanted to make her Valentine exchange a little special.
Next year I am sure we will be buying Spongebob Valentines from Dollar Tree.
So what do you think?
It took us all of 45 minutes to create 20 Valentines start to finish but it looks like it took a lot longer.
I am sure I will get evil death stares on the faces of the other preschool moms for making these.
That’s okay I will return the favor in kindergarten.
A Grace Full Life 
That is really, so awfully cute! But I just paid $3.50 at the grocery store for 28 Disney Princess Valentines with a castle-shaped lollipop. I'm not ashamed.Love your clever "school" comments! 🙂
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ADORABLE!! I am totally trying them!Might even throw one in my husband's lunch:)
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I had nightmares last night and I am blaming them all on GoDaddy. Ick!The valentines are fantastic. If it makes you feel any better, I suck at cutting, too.
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I had nightmares last night and I'm blaming it all on GoDaddy. Ick!If it makes you feel any better, I suck at cutting, too. I don't think I have the patience for it. And, yes, I recognize how sad that sounds.
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Too cute of a craft. Unfortunately, they wont let the kids bring treats in 1st grade or I'd be rocking these for Princess M. Maybe they make fish erasers . . . . .
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I wish my son still did Valentine's. I always loved getting them ready for him and then going through them with him when he got home from school. He's too old for all that fun stuff now!
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Oh ouch yeah I don't blame you for not spending $25 for a preschool valentine! I love the brutal honest in your post "handwriting like a serial killer" haha!They turned out cute. 🙂
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Lol Thanks!
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These are so cute! I, too, am horrible at cutting along a line 😉 Thanks for sharing this with us at Funtastic Friday Kari!
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The struggle is real. Thank you for visiting as always! 🙂
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So you’re just cutting circles out on paper, writing a message, and then putting it in a bag with candy? Pretty clever. All the other kids are just getting a card, right? Ha! Yours will be the best. The other mothers will get you back.
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They will and they have! I am now heading to Dollar Tree and buying the store kind because it isn’t “cool” to have handmade Valentines!
Hooray! 😉
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very creative with a hands on project. I love it!
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Thank you and thanks to Pinterest. I don’t know what I would do without it! 🙂
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Reblogged this on .
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I like your effort and as for death stares from other preschool moms, who cares? They were just jealous of your creativity and willingness to color outside the lines, so to speak. It’s all probably forgotten by now.
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Yeah they are! 😂😂
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I think this is such a cute idea! And yes, don’t we miss those little fingers? Too darn sweet.
My handwriting is morphing into serial killer status; I think I’m just getting lazy, which I don’t think pertains to serial killers.
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I think I am getting lazy too. I call it computer-itis. If I had to handwrite a blog, I never would have started.
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So cute! I had a bunch of stamps and ink pads so my kids used to make cards with stamps. It was an afternoon of fun (and me begging them not to stamp various colors into the ink pads). Those were the days. Love the meat teacher. And serial killer handwriting gives them a Halloween party edge.
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Ooh yes! Edgy! I love that angle. 😂
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This a great idea. My daughter is in pre-k now and Eric bought her the valentines at Walmart and we didn’t even write the names on them. How times have changed. I wish I would spend the time to do this type of thing, but I just haven’t! Welp, there’s always next year.
Also, when you are reposting these, are you changing the posted date and publishing? Or are you copying and pasting the content into a new post?
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I’m just pressing the reblog button at the bottom of the original post. That way it isn’t republishing it, just sharing it again. So the original date doesn’t change and neither does the Google ranking.
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