Learn how to make love bug crafts with homemade DIY or ready-made pom-poms for Valentine’s Day with the easy step-by-step instructions and video tutorial below.
Learn how to make DIY Valentine’s Day stickers with these adorable pom-pom love bug craft tutorials for kids and adults. There are two easy ways to make critter or love bug pom-pom crafts for this fun activity. Learn how to make a homemade pom-pom with yarn and a fork, a pom-pom maker, or use pre-made craft poms to make these cute little love bugs with this step-by-step craft tutorial. Valentine’s Day gifts like these are easy crafts to make for friends and loved ones, and also make great classroom handouts. Even older kids, teens, and adults will enjoy making these cute pom-pom critters.
Use the step-by-step DIY instructions and video tutorial below to make cute love bug stickers for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day or to tell someone you love them any time of year! Scroll down to see the instructions for both easy love bug craft ideas. You may also enjoy making the critters, monsters, and love bugs on THIS list of adorable Valentine’s Day craft ideas.
Love Bugs Make Perfect Valentine’s Day Handouts and Gifts:
Instead of handing out Valentine’s Day cards to her classmates, my daughter gave each of them a pom-pom love bug craft with a personalized fabric gift tag. They were a class favorite. Just look at how cute her love bugs turned out in the photographs for this craft tutorial. Make cute little pom-pom friends to handout for Valentine’s Day with the step-by-step instructions below. For more homemade Valentine’s Day handouts and keepsake gift ideas, check out this list of Valentine’s Day crafts kids can make.
What is a pom pom?
A pom-pom is a tuft of fibrous material in various colors and sizes. Store-bought craft poms are most often made of acrylic or poly. Homemade DIY pom-poms can be made with almost any kind of yarn. We like to make pompoms with cotton or wool to reduce the microplastics in our environment, but acrylic yarn also works well. You can also make needle-felted pom-poms with wool roving and a DIY felting kit. Pre-made wool pom-poms are also available for purchase. The Valentine’s Day craft tutorial below teaches how to use a fork and yarn to make homemade craft poms, but you can also use a pom-pom maker or another method to create them. Happy love bug crafting! You might also enjoy making fingerprint love bug crafts.
Two Easy Love Bug Pom Pom Craft Ideas for Kids and Adults:
Directions for two easy ways to make love bug pompom crafts for Valentine’s Day (or Mother’s Day) are included below. One method uses pre-made craft poms, as shown in the photograph above, while the other critter craft idea uses homemade poms made with yarn and a fork. First, this Valentine’s Day craft tutorial shares how to make pom-pom love bug stickers with pre-made craft poms.
Next, it describes how to make DIY pom-pom love bug crafts with a fork and yarn, as shown in the photograph below. Both types of love bug pom-pom craft ideas are pictured in this post. After making a total of 48 love bugs, my daughter and I have plenty of tips to share for making these adorable little critter crafts. There is even a video tutorial you can watch to learn how to make these adorable love bug crafts for Valentine’s Day. You might also enjoy these Valentine’s Day art projects.
Love bug craft supplies for both Valentine’s Day Crafts:
- Pom-Poms:
- Either use pre-made pom-poms or make homemade craft poms with a fork or a pom-pom maker with cotton, wool-blend, acrylic, or another kind of yarn to make love bugs.
- Step-by-step instructions for making lovebug crafts with both types of materials are included in this craft tutorial and shown in the video.
- Scissors.
- Pipe cleaners or chenille stems.
- Foam heart stickers:
- My daughter and I used THESE heart stickers to make the love bug crafts shown in the photographs and video tutorial.
- Alternatively, try THIS craft sticker pack with glitter foam hearts.
- Or you can use these cute felt heart stickers, glitter hearts, felt hearts, regular foam hearts, etc.
- Please be aware that your love bug crafts will still be adorable, but won’t be stickers if you use hearts for the feet that don’t stick.
- Googly eyes or wiggle eyes:
- Black-and-white assorted sizes with self-adhesive.
- Multi-colored googly eyes in assorted sizes with self-adhesive.
- Glue or adhesive:
- Hot glue
- Tacky glue pen
- White glue.
- Gift tag (optional):
- Attach personalized fabric gift tag sewing labels to make Valentine’s Day gifts and handouts for classmates and friends.
First published on January 15, 2020, this love bug sticker craft tutorial is regularly updated to improve the content and keep it current. Please note: Dollar Tree has copied my sticker love bug craft idea and is selling two types of Valentine Pom-Pom Critter Craft Kits based on these love bug crafts.
How to Make Love Bug Stickers with Pre-made Craft Poms:
Here’s a love bug Valentine craft tutorial for preschoolers to teens that shares how to make a love bug craft in multiple sizes with pre-made craft poms, as shown in the photograph below. Encourage children (or adults) to make love bugs with various colors of pom poms for even more fun! Read the instructions before making love bug crafts to know the steps involved and what to expect. Or scroll down to the next section to see how to make lovebugs with homemade poms. You might also enjoy these Valentine’s Day Crafts and DIY Gift Ideas.
1. Glue a small or large pom-pom to the top of a foam heart sticker to make the love bug’s Feet:
- Craft poms, foam, and felt heart stickers come in multiple sizes and various colors:
- Mix and match the colors and sizes of pom-poms and heart stickers however you like to make love bug crafts, as shown in the photographs.
- Use hot glue, craft glue, or a tacky glue pen to attach a pom-pom to the top of a foam heart sticker to create the bug’s feet.
- Hot glue dries quickly and requires caution and adult supervision, while craft glue needs drying time. Choose the best glue for your needs.
- Optional: Attach a personalized fabric gift tag sewing label underneath the pom-pom when you glue it to the foam heart sticker to make the feet.
- Personalized gift tags make it easy to hand out love bugs to classmates and friends without a card. (This step is not shown in the Love Bug video tutorial.)
2. Cut, bend, and glue a piece of pipe cleaner to the top of the pom-pom to make the love bug’s antenna:
- First, cut a piece of pipe cleaner and bend it into a “V” shape.
- Next, use your fingers to gently separate the fibers on top of the craft pom to make room for the pipe cleaner to sit, as shown in the video.
- Then, use a glue gun with glue sticks, craft glue, or a tacky glue pen to attach the pipe cleaner to the top of the pom-pom.
3. Glue googly eyes onto the Valentine’s Day love bug craft to create the face:
- It may sound challenging, but gluing googly eyes onto a pom pom is simple. Put glue on the back of a black-and-white or colored googly eye, one at a time, then use your finger to press it into the pom-pom to attach it and secure it in place.
- Even wiggle eyes with adhesive on them will stick better with a bit of extra glue.
- Attach the googly eyes just above the middle of the pom pom, as shown in the photographs and video tutorial, to create the face of each love bug pom-pom craft.
4. Twist each piece of the pipe cleaner antenna to position it in place or attach a foam heart to the tip:
- Grab the tip of each pipe cleaner and twist it down to create the antenna for the love bug crafts, as shown in the photograph below.
- Alternatively, glue a small heart to the tip of each antenna for an adorable craft variation.
How to Make Adorable Love Bugs for Valentine’s Day In Two Different Ways: Pom-Pom Love Bug Craft Step-By-Step Video Tutorial
Watch the video to learn two ways to make pom-pom love bug crafts. You can use either store-bought or DIY pom-pom crafts. Step-by-step instructions for making love bugs with homemade craft poms are included in the video tutorial posted directly below.
Related: Valentine’s Day Crafts and Gifts Kids Can Make
How to Make DIY Pom-Pom Love Bug Crafts with Homemade Poms:
The following step-by-step love bug Valentine craft tutorial shows how to make pom-pom love bugs and cute critter crafts with a fork and yarn for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. I like making love bugs with homemade poms because they make attaching the antenna to each love bug craft much easier, since you don’t need glue. Use the love bug pom-pom craft project tutorial below the photograph to learn how to make adorable little love bug stickers with DIY pompoms:
1. Make a DIY pom-pom with a fork and yarn (or use a pom-pom maker) to create the body of the love bug Valentine’s Day craft:
- Homemade love bug pom-pom crafts can be made in various ways with almost any kind of yarn.
- Use multiple strands of yarn or variegated yarn to make love bugs in various colors, as shown in the photographs.
- Follow the step-by-step directions below to make homemade pom-poms.
How to make a pom-pom love bug craft with an attached antenna:
- Cut a piece of yarn and place it between the fork’s 2nd and 3rd prongs or tines. (This step is shown in the Love Bug video tutorial above.)
- Gather the tip of one or two strands of yarn still attached to a yarn ball in one hand.
- Place the strands of yarn on top of and across the fork prongs.
- Wrap the strand(s) of yarn around the fork over and over and over again until you have a nice thick pad of yarn, as shown in the video tutorial.
- Set the fork wrapped in yarn on a table or work surface, then snip off the excess yarn.
- Cut a 2-5 inch piece of pipe cleaner and fold it into a “V” shape.
- Place the tip of the “V” shaped pipe cleaner into the yarn to sit deep between the wrapped yarn, as shown in the video tutorial.
- Grab the yarn section between the tines of the fork and wrap it around the pad of yarn.
- Next, tie the yarn tightly together, ensuring the chenille stem pieces are on opposite sides of the yarn to form the bug’s antennae, as shown in the video.
- Carefully slide the yarn pad off the fork’s tines and turn it over.
- Tie another knot to secure the yarn in place.
- Use scissors to cut the loops of yarn into a pom-pom, as shown in the video tutorial.
- Give the pom-pom a haircut.
- Trim it with scissors so the yarn is all approximately the same length.
- Wiggle the yarn around as you work to make it into a nice fluffy ball with a cute pair of love bug antennas sticking out of the top.
- Twist the pipe cleaner pieces into the shape of a bug’s antenna.
2. Glue each homemade pom-pom to the top of a foam heart sticker to make the love bug’s feet:
- Use hot glue (or craft glue) to attach the handmade pom-pom to the top of a foam heart sticker to make the love bug’s feet.
- You can also use a regular foam heart for the feet, but the love bug won’t be a sticker.
- Lovebug stickers are fun to attach to car dashboards, mirrors, shelves, refrigerators, whiteboards, notebooks, dresser tops, and more!
- Optional: Attach a personalized fabric gift tag underneath the pom-pom when you glue it to the foam heart sticker.
- A fabric tag attached makes it easy to hand out love bug crafts to classmates, family, friends, and loved ones for Valentine’s Day.
3. Attach googly eyes onto the homemade pom to make the face of the DIY pom-pom love bug sticker or craft:
- Glue black and white or colored googly eyes onto the face of each love bug pom-pom sticker or craft, as shown in the photograph below.
- Aren’t the love bugs we made cute?!
Pom-Pom Love Bug Valentine Craft Idea:
This adorable pom-pom love bug craft idea is an excellent homemade DIY gift for Valentine’s Day! Instead of passing out Valentine’s Day cards last year, my daughter gave each classmate a pom-pom love bug sticker with a personalized fabric label gift tag. The Valentine’s Day gift tag read, “Handmade with love by___________. Happy Valentine’s Day!“
Of course, her name was in the blank space; please substitute your own! You can also make these cute love bugs for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, or an anniversary. These cute little pom-pom critter sticker crafts also make a great DIY favor idea for a Wedding or a bridal shower. All you need to do is add a message that matches the occasion on the fabric label gift tag. We hope you enjoy making and giving love bugs to friends, family, and loved ones as much as my daughter and I do!
Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author, photographer, and creator of this original pom-pom love bug craft tutorial HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Love Bug Craft Ideas for Kids and Adults:
More Valentine’s Day Crafts and Gift Ideas for Kids and Adults:
- Thumbprint Heart Magnets
- Valentine’s Day Crafts and Gift Ideas Kids Can Make
- Heart Art Projects
- Watercolor Surprise Heart Art
- Hanging Heart Prism Suncatcher
- Heart Art Salt Painting
- Thumbprint Heart Necklaces
- Best Valentine’s Day Art Projects
- Hearts Falling in Love Sensory Bottle
- Thumbprint Heart Keychain and Backpack Charms
- Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Him or Her
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