Looking for a Valentine’s Day craft that’s as fun to make as it is beautiful? These tissue paper valentines are the perfect blend of creativity and colour! Using bleeding tissue paper and white oil pastels, kids and adults alike can create stunning designs that magically appear as the colours soak into the paper.
This heart craft is really easy and fun to make, perfect for anyone who loves experimenting with art. Whether you’re making them for friends, family, or a classroom exchange, these valentines are sure to stand out. Let’s dive into this colourful project and see the magic unfold!
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How to Make Tissue Paper Valentines
Equipment:
- Spray bottle (with water)
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Prepare the heart shapes
- Print one of our FREE heart templates on cardstock (find the link in the materials list above).
- Cut out the heart shapes.
- Draw Valentine’s Day designs on both of the heart templates with a white oil pastel. You can draw hearts, simple words, or make the valentine look like a lacy doily.(If your hearts still have a bit of a black outline from cutting them out, be sure to draw on the other side.)
Step 3: Add bleeding tissue paper to the hearts
- Spray water on the heart template. It will curl up a bit, but you can easily press it flat again.
- Cut strips of bleeding tissue paper, enough to cover the heart. Here we used multiple shades of red, but you can also use different colours.
- Place a piece of tissue paper down on the damp paper.
- Spray a bit more water on top to flatten the tissue paper and keep it in place.
- Repeat, adding tissue paper until there’s no white showing and you’re happy with the design.Make sure the tissue paper is flat on the heart and is really saturated.
- You can also cut smaller pieces of tissue paper in many colours.
- Place these tissue paper pieces onto the second heart, spraying more water after every few pieces.
Step 4: Allow to dry
- Allow the tissue paper and cardstock to dry.You can also carefully lift the papers onto paper towel to soak up some of the water, helping them to dry more quickly.
- Remove the tissue paper (if it’s completely dry it will slide right off) and see your design emerge!
- Repeat with the second heart.If you make a design with smaller pieces of tissue paper, the cardstock tends to get more wet, so be careful removing the paper. The cardstock itself may still be damp, and more prone to tearing.
- Your tissue paper valentines are complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Make sure the tissue paper is really saturated and stuck flat to the paper. If necessary, use a paintbrush to flatten it down. This will help give you the best colour transfer.
- Have fun experimenting with different colour combinations! You can do stripes in different colours or create an ombre pattern. You can also add smaller pieces of bleeding tissue paper to create a random/tie dye look.
- Bright colours will add the most colour to your valentine. Pastel shades don’t show up as well, plus the oil pastel design shows through better on darker colours.
Where can I get a heart template to make this tissue paper Valentine’s craft?
We have 8 different heart outlines for you to choose from, with 34 printable pages available.
We used medium heart outline #1 to make our valentines.
Do I have to use oil pastel to create a resist pattern on my tissue paper valentine?
We do recommend using oil pastel, as we found that white crayon didn’t work on the cardstock. The water and colour saturate the paper too much, and the crayon pattern doesn’t show up.
If you use watercolor paper a white crayon is an acceptable option, but oil pastels still work a lot better for this art project.
You can also simply use the tissue paper to colour your paper heart and then use a permanent marker to write a Valentine’s message after the paper is dry.
What type of tissue paper do you need to make tissue paper valentines?
You need to use a special type of tissue paper called bleeding tissue paper to make these valentines. You can buy it at art stores or online.
We tried using regular dollar store tissue paper (the kind for gift wrapping) and it didn’t bleed at all. Some cheaper papers might, but since it didn’t in our experience, we recommend buying tissue paper that specifically mentions “bleeding”.
What paper is best for making tissue paper valentines?
We really like the look of how the tissue paper bleeds and combines on cardstock. It also makes the back of the paper colourful, which is nice if you want to hang the hearts up as decorations.
Cardstock does, however, warp, so you’ll need to flatten your valentines out after they dry. We recommend placing them under a stack of heavy books, but you can also iron them on the lowest possible temperature, sandwiched between parchment paper with the front (oil pastel side) facing down.
Watercolor paper is another good option for this craft, and the paper won’t warp, since it’s meant to hold liquid. However the colour doesn’t spread or blend as much as it does on the cardstock.
These tissue paper valentines are more than just a craft — they’re a creative way to share a little love and brighten someone’s day. The unique patterns and vibrant colours make each one special, and the process is just as enjoyable as the finished result.
Whether you’re crafting solo or with a group, these valentines are sure to leave a lasting impression. So grab your supplies and get ready to spread some colourful joy this Valentine’s Day!
Here’s even more Valentine’s Day craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy, and importantly low mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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