You Rule: Candy-Free Classroom Valentine Gifts

Happy Friday! Do you have snow? I know the south eastern states got a surprise visit from Mr. Winter last night, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Besides sledding, the boys and I will finish up these fun little Valentine gifts over the long weekend:

They were easy to make, and easy on the wallet! (I’m sure you have some of the supplies already. If not, make do with what you have on hand.)

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

 

 

Materials:

• Lowe’s wooden yard stick
• Hand saw
• Miter box
• Paint brush
• Sandpaper
• Red latex or acrylic paint
• Ribbon
• Small screw eyes
• Pliers
• Optional: Lollipops & rubberbands (I know, that’s not candy-free. I’ll explain at the end of this tutorial.)

Instructions:

Clamp the yard stick against the miter saw and your work surface. Saw the yard stick into 4″ sections.

Sand the rough edges off the rulers to knock off any splinters.

Mix a dollop of latex paint with water. (My mixture is thin and runny like milk.)

Paint the glaze mixture onto the rulers. After one side has dried, flip it over to paint the opposite side.

When the rulers are dry, start a screw eye in the end of the ruler. Twist it the rest of the way in with pliers. (After 10 rulers, my hand was already starting to cramp without the pliers.)

Tie a ribbon through the screw eye and attach a tag letting your Valentine know that they RULE!

I got fancy schmancy with the tags and used my Silhouette craft cutter. Here’s the tutorial to share how I made those glitter two layer  tags?

And now, as promised, I’ll tell you about the conversation I had with my son which made me change my mind about keeping these Valentine’s candy-free. He told me that last year some of his classmates were mad that his Melted Crayon Heart Valentines didn’t have candy.

I asked him how that made him feel and he told me, sad. I also asked him if that was a good reason for them to be angry with him. He agreed that it wasn’t.

Regardless of how silly it sounds, I remember what it was like being in 3rd grade and having a classmate being angry at me. For Valentine’s Day this year, my sons will give out their “Your Rule” Valentines with these organic lollipops attached:

I found them at Whole Foods and they are dye-free! (As explained in this post about my dye sensitive kid.)

My youngest has already added his Valentine to his ever-growing population of key fobs on his backpack. Do your kids have a collection of keychains on their backpack? Is this a trend?

Hopefully their classmates will enjoy the rulers (and the lollipops, too.)

Am I the only parent who wishes that the candy expectation for Valentine’s Day wasn’t the norm? What happened to just a little card?

Disclosure: I have partnered with Lowe’s as a Lowe’s Creative Influencer. I was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to complete my project. The tutorial, photos and opinions expressed in this post are my own. I was not told what to write. #LowesCreator