un on Valentine's Day doesn't have to stop when school lets out. Gather your kids and their friends for a hands-on Valentine's Day project that will give them another way to spread sweetness. A paper mouse with a lollipop tail that's sure to turn "eek" to "easy."

Enthusiasm was high at the Hannan house. Mom Lynda said, "I invited a friend and her 6-year-old over for some crafting with our 4-year-old Jack and Katie, who's 2. Everyone was very excited after looking at the picture on the e-mail and seeing the bag full of lollipops. We all had to have one to begin the project."

"These were easy for both kids (Matt, 5, and Abby, 7) to make," Karen Krabacher, a mom from Ohio, reported.

What you'll need:

• Red and black construction paper
• Lollipops of your choice
• Single-hole hole punch
• Glue
• Tape

How to make a heart-shaped mouse:

1. Cut three identical hearts, about 4 inches in length, from red construction paper. (The hearts should be in scale with the lollipops -- larger pops require larger hearts.) Cut one small heart to decorate the end of the tail.
2. For the body, glue the edges of two hearts together around the top curves, leaving the bottom pointed portion of the hearts open. Turn the hearts upside down so that the curves form the mouse's bottom and the top points are open like a pocket.
3. The third heart will be the mouse's head. Cut a slit from the bottom point of the heart to its center. Slip one side of the slit slightly inside the other, as if you were making a paper cone, and secure them with tape. This will give your mouse a pointy nose and the two curves at the top will form the ears.
4. With a hole punch, punch out eyes and a nose from black construction paper. Glue the nose dot to the end of the point. Glue the other two dots above the nose for eyes. Glue the head to the top part of the body.
5. Slip a lollipop into the body pocket of the mouse so the stick hangs out as the tail. Glue a small heart to the end of the stick.
6. Decorate the front of the mouse with a bow or other decoration.

Some families reported that the kids grew impatient waiting for the glue to dry on the pockets (so that the lollipop tails could be inserted). If your crafters are anxious to complete the mouse quickly, use a stapler instead of glue.

Rachel's sister, Christine (5), said making the mouse was fun and easy, and she was able to do the project by herself. "Christine used shiny gold paper for her bow. Rachel used glitter glue for her bow," the girls' mom, Peggy, reported.

If you want to write a valentine message on the mouse's back, do it before you insert the lollipop tail.

A Variation:
If you don't want to give a candy valentine, substitute a chenille stem for the lollipop. Glue a heart with a short message written on it to one end of the stem, and at the other end, glue on a small heart with the instruction to "pull." Slip the message heart into the body pocket of the mouse. The receiver can pull on the tail to read your valentine message.

TAKE IT FROM ME:
Substitute red construction paper with other colors. Mom said, 'Matt's mouse was green and Abby's was pink.' --Krabacher family This article © 2001-2004 Studio One Networks.