Estimated time to make this valentine:
1 hour

Appropriate age group(s):
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Materials:
colored tissue paper, construction paper or colored printer paper, cardboard for templates, craft glue, paint or markers, hole punch and ribbon

Instructions:
Two different ideas if you have a lot of kids of different ages.

1. Use cardboard to make a template, an outline, of a heart or other desired shape. What you want is a frame of a heart about 1/2 inch wide, with about 4 inches or so of empty space from side to side. Use the template to cut out 2 of these shapes from the construction or printer paper.

Lay tissue paper under one of the hearts and trace around the outer edge so that you have a tissue heart that will fit between two frame hearts. You may want to keep the tissue a bit larger than the frames, glue one frame onto the tissue, allow it to dry a bit, glue the other side on, then trim the tissue carefully.

When it's dry, Carefully and Lightly (you don't want the tissue to get too wet) paint or use marker to write a 2 or 3 word message on the tissue, or write a verse along and around the frame. Punch a hole at the top for a ribbon, so that the heart can be hung in front of a window to let light through.

2. Another idea is to make one solid heart or other valentine shape, then tear small bits of different colored tissue, and glue them on, overlapping a bit and filling the space, either in a random fashion or building in a design. Then lay a frame such as the one suggested earlier over the mosaic.

Other comments or suggestions to consider:
If you like, you could make a frame with several open spaces, like a paned window, and put different colors of tissue in each "pane."

An older child could combine the two ideas and make a mosaic center for the stained glass hanging. You make a mosaic picture, let it dry, then glue it between 2 frame pieces and trim to fit. This can be very pretty hanging in sunlight.