Unloading some LOVE

  This week, I was commissioned to hand-make valentines for my youngest nephew's Preschool class. (Yes, just typing that makes me feel OLD.)  They wanted something fun, something a little different, and something that would look nice. My first thoughts were danish hearts or cupcake liner/egg carton/sucker flowers, but I also wanted something more "boyish" for him to distribute.
   After reviewing a few ideas, the Mama said she liked this idea, and I should just do them however I think is best. Here are some pictures of the finished project!
  This is the front, a dump truck with a box of conversation hearts as the "load" being "dumped"...

Inside, it says, "Unloading BIG THANKS for being such a great friend. Happy Valentine's Day!" I used a few kid-friendly stickers to help decorate the inside, as well.

One valentine, up close. Notice that the "wheels" are individually wrapped mints. If I had used solid paper for the truck, I may have used peppermint discs, but I didn't want it to get too busy. Also, IF this was for older children or adults, I might have glued a few loose conversation hearts to look like they were "spilling," or being "dumped".  Since these were for younger children and I didn't want them to pull glued candy off to eat, I just used a few stickers at the end of the box.

The ones for my nephews say, "Unloading some LOVE for you... Happy Valentine's Day!" They also got extra stickers! (Yes, Aunties can play favorites.)

I made enough for my nephew's class, his Teacher, his two brothers, 

and a few friends. I also made a few extra. 

The possibilities to be creative with these are endless. I got out scraps of paper from old projects and just played around all day. It was important to use card stock and thicker paper, so that the card would support the box of candy.

A few more of the cards. I particularly like the idea of using an old map (Thanks, Santa.) for either the truck itself, or the background.

A few more...

Oh yeah, I also did a "hairy valentine" with this bunch - see post below.

    IF you were to make these yourself, I would suggest making yourself a master pattern and then just working from that. With younger children, you can either cut some of the shapes for them, or use this project to jump-start a discussion about shapes.

    I had thought to cut out a "window", but then I forgot. (slightly rushed to get these in the mail on time) However, I think I like them better without the window. IF I cut a hole, then I'd want to put a picture of a driver in the window or get out plastic wrap... These three are the ones for my nephews. I went with the two oldest nephew's favorite colors for their backgrounds, and a map background for the third.

   Due to the bulkiness of the candy boxes, I didn't want to try to shove these into envelopes. Instead, I used plastic cello gift bags, which I then sealed with a mailing label. I printed out each child's name on the mailing label - especially fun for Preschool aged children.
   This was a slightly larger project than originally anticipated, but I just wanted them to look nice. It was also incredibly more fun than one might initially think making a bunch of "boy valentines" would be. The only thing that could have made this better was if I could have had my nephews help me themselves with these valentines.
  I got this task yesterday morning and mailed the box this afternoon. While job hunting can be frustrating, I'm thankful for the time right now to work on projects like this. Now, we just hope that the box arrives in time...