Piggy Bank Valentine

I’ve been experimenting with some different homemade valentine ideas and thought I’d share one I made yesterday: the piggy bank valentine.

I was inspired by the felt piggy bank Kennedy made for Tate and I decided it would make a cute valentine too.

I started by making the coin slot {a buttonhole} in the middle of my fabric.  I held a heart outline over the area and figured out where I wanted the buttonhole, then marked a starting spot.  Be sure the buttonhole will fit a quarter.

When the buttonhole was finished, I placed tissue paper over the area {making sure the buttonhole was where I wanted it}, traced a heart, and sewed right over top.

This method is much simpler than trying to stitch right near the edge of the felt.  Once you’ve sewn around the entire heart, you tear the tissue away {it tears off easily because the needle makes perfect little perforations} …

… and trim around the heart, close to the stitching.

Slit your buttonhole open {or you can do that first if you like to make things simple … smile} …

… and you have a cute little piggy bank valentine!  You can add a cheesy saying {because cheesy valentines are the best} …

… and let your kids hand them out to friends.  I thought this would be a cute valentine for Tate to give to her playgroup.  Three year olds love money, don’t they?

 Are you making homemade valentines this year?

For more Valentine ideas that kids will love, be sure to check out this fun and artsy finger paint valentine {free printable included} …

… a heart soap valentine with a free printable …

… and a handmade chalkboard valentine that couldn’t be simpler to make {and is perfect for the younger crowd!}.