You’ve got to try shaving cream marble hearts for Valentine’s Day. This surprisingly easy Valentine craft for kids uses just two ingredients: shaving cream and paint. The result is a combination sensory and art project turns out incredible.
Table of Contents:
- The Supplies
- Step by Step directions for shaving cream marble hearts
- What to do with the finished shaving cream marble hearts
- Don’t miss this tip – a final idea
- Frequently Asked Questions
Talk about a super cool Valentine’s day art project.
If you are looking for a real WOW factor activity (both while you make it and the final product): shaving cream marbled hearts is just about the neatest thing ever.
I’m not trying to play favorites here, but if there was one amazing art skill that I’ve learned over the past few years, marbled shaving cream is it.
This makes the best pattern… but getting to that awesome pattern is a fun activity in and of itself.
There’s a pretty unexpected twist getting to the final product here and I’m super excited to show you how I do this.
RELATED: Looking for more Valentine’s Day activities for kids? Check out this list!
Looking for more structure each day?
Check out Playing Preschool: Busy Toddler’s 190-day at-home activities program
The Supplies
Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
- Shaving cream
- Washable tempera paint
- Wooden skewers
- Pan/dish
- Cookie sheet
- Old credit card
- White construction paper
This may seem like an expansive list of supplies, but I promise: it all comes together quickly. Plus most of the supplies are things you *probably* have sitting around the house.
Step by Step directions for shaving cream marble hearts
I’m not one for long multi-step activities or crafts, but I make an exception with shaving cream marble hearts for Valentine’s day.
This is well-worth the extra time and directions. Not only will the kids love this, but I promise (and I mean promise) that you will be blown away by this Valentine’s activity too.
Step 1: Put a layer of shaving cream into a dish
Get a good layer of shaving cream into a dish (this is my 7×10 pan). This is definitely an adult part of the activity – those shaving cream containers are hard to use!
Step 2: Squirt in a bunch of paint
There are lots of ways to do this activity: liquid watercolor, food coloring, but I went with washable tempera paint because it’s what so many of us have around.
I let my 4 year old squirt a bunch of paint and colors on top of the shaving cream. What a great grip strength workout!
You’ll want a good amount of colors to use. I went with all our “Valentine’s day” colors.
Step 3: Stir gently with a wooden skewer
Let your child GENTLY swipe through the shaving cream, back and forth, making a beautiful design.
It’s not about stirring, just gliding the stick through the paint and shaving cream.
Note: If you don’t have wooden skewers, try using a butter knife or fork.
Step 4: Press the paper on top
We didn’t have fancy water color paper or I would have been inclined to use it. Our normal white construction paper worked great.
Push it down on top and make sure it gets a good even coating. Pull up to reveal an absolute mess of shaving cream and paint.
Step 5: Scrape off the extra
Lay the shaving cream covered paper onto the cookie sheet and grab an old credit card.
Hold the paper in place and carefully scrape the extra shaving cream off the paper revealing the most amazing marble print.
It is a WOW moment for sure.
I can’t even begin to tell you how cool it it and no picture will ever live up to the moment.
What to do with the finished shaving cream marble hearts
It doesn’t take long for this to dry – and once they are, cut them into hearts.
There are so many ideas for what to do with these. Here are a few:
- Tape them in windows for decoration
- String the hearts together to make garland
- Write notes on the back as DIY Valentines
Don’t miss this tip – a final idea
My friend Kristian from Friends Art Lab taught me that you should SAVE the extra paint and shaving cream to use in a potion sensory bin after this activity.
She’s a genius. A two-for-one activity.
I set the bowl of paint and shaving cream outside with water and various tools for play. My kids absolutely loved this.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is this activity for?
This is 100% going to be a parenting judgement call. Because this activity needs adult support (and isn’t an independent play activity), you’ll have to decide if your child will enjoy helping you with the steps of this activity. They might at age 2. They might not until age 5. That’s where good-parent-judgement comes in.
How long does this activity take?
The actual activity from squeezing shaving cream to making the first print takes only 5 minutes. When I set this up for my kids (ages 4+), they will sit and work at it for well over 20 minutes creating art.
Is this technique only fun at Valentine’s Day?
No! This is an awesome year-round art technique. I just happened to use it for Valentine’s day and it happens to be perfect.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
