Valentines Day is such a feel-good holiday, and there’s nothing more heart-warming than making an adorable and memorable keepsake bag for holding  Valentine exchange cards, party favors, or Valentines candy and treats.

Our favorite thing about this Valentine craft is that anyone can do it—you don’t need a long list of expensive materials, and you don’t even need to be “crafty” to make an adorable bag that everyone will love! This is a fun and easy Valentine project for kids and adults. We love this craft for Valentine parties and play dates, too.

Let's make the Happy Heart Valentine bag!

You’ll love this quick and easy Valentine bag that’s fun for all ages. All you need is a few basic craft materials. If you don’t have everything on the list, you can always “make it your own” with a different kind of bag, or by cutting your own shapes, or even using a box instead of a bag. This adorable design can adapt to many different approaches and materials for maximum cuteness on Valentine’s Day

Craft supplies:

Any paper bag with handle
FreshCut Crafts Heart Cutouts 
Marker
Scissors
Tape or glue
One sheet of paper 
Optional: 2 white paper circles for eyes or googly eyes

Happy Heart Valentine Bag Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1:

Choose a large heart cutout in a color that really “pops” against your bag. That will be the face of the happy little character you’re making. Use the white paper circles to place the eyes or just draw eyes onto the heart. If you have the Heart Cutouts pack, grab some of the smaller hearts to make rosy heart-shaped cheeks and nose. You can always cut or draw your own hearts, too. Use the marker to draw a smile and eyelashes or eyebrows to give your Happy Heart a friendly expression.

Step 2:

Apply tape or glue to the back side of the large heart and position it high on the bag so that it extends past the opening to create the head.

Step 3:

Next, take a sheet of card stock or construction paper in your favorite color and cut it into four long strips that are each about an inch wide. For this project, we’re using the bright pink from our Valentine Paper Colors pack. These strips will soon become the Happy Heart’s arms and legs!

Step 4:

Taking one strip of paper at a time, make a fold at approximately the 1-inch mark. At the 2-inch mark, fold the strip in the other direction to make a “Z.” Repeat folding the strip in a zig-zag-like back-and-forth direction until you reach the end of the strip, then release it and it will expand into a fun folded arm or leg. Repeat for all four strips.

Note: Your accordion arms and legs do not have to be perfectly measured—they’re always cute and fun no matter how you fold them. The goal is just to make cute little accordion arms and legs!

Step 5:

Use tape to attach the arms on the sides of the bag in the creased area. Place them vertically so they hang down like human arms would. Tape the legs to the bottom of the bag so they dangle when your Happy Heart “sits.” As a final detail, glue or tape smaller hearts to the ends of the arms and legs to create little heart-shaped hands and feet.

Step 6:

Enjoy your Happy Heart bag! Fill it with Valentine exchange cards, party favors, Valentine gifts and treats, or simply sit it on a table or shelf for an adorable Valentine room decoration. Use your leftover Heart Cutouts to make DIY Valentine cards, heart garlands and wall décor, Valentine bulletin boards, and more.

Want to make the coolest Valentine exchange cards to fill your bag?

Check out our Crafty Valentines pack. It includes 369 punch-out Valentine shapes and 28 blank tear-and-fold cards in 7 coordinating colors. It even includes an IDEA GUIDE with 20 fun ways to use the shapes to create easy and adorable critters to decorate your cards.

Shop the FreshCut Crafts Valentine collection

Get more Valentine Ideas on YouTube Channel

You’ll find this Happy Heart bag and many more adorable Valentine crafts on the Valentine episode of Craft with Me! Subscribe to the FreshCut Crafts YouTube channel for more ideas, craft tutorials and fun.