Dinosaur Valentine’s Box

We created this dinosaur Valentine’s box as a sponsored craft for Testors®. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. We hope you and your kids have a blast creating this fun DIY dinosaur Valentine box together. 

Do you have a dinosaur fan at your house? If so, they are going to jump for joy over making this awesome dino box to hold all of their Valentine’s this year. The box is designed with a big open T-Rex mouth so friends feed your dinosaur with their Valentine cards. So much fun, right?!

Close up image of person placing a heart Valentine inside the mouth of the dinosaur Valentine box.

We used two boxes to create this cool dinosaur. This gives the finished Valentine box a perfect three-dimensional look. A rectangle box was used for the body and a smaller, square box was used for the dinosaur head.

We also used two different green tones from Testors Craft® acrylic paints to paint our dinosaur. The top green coat was painted on with a circle sponge brush to allow some of the lighter green color to poke through and to give our dinosaur a scaly, reptile-like texture.

Side view angle of finished Dinosaur Valentine's box.

Testors® has a fantastic collection of color assortments available that are perfect for projects like the one we are sharing today. They are multipurpose and non-toxic too, so I love how we can use them on all sorts of surfaces for all our crafting needs.

The Testors® products we used are available online (and in stores) at Menards, True Value, Amazon, and other craft supply stores.

Assortment of Testors Craft acrylic paints and Testors spray adhesive laying down on a pink background with heart stickers scattered around.

How to make a Dinosaur Valentine’s Box

Read our step-by-step instructions below for how to create your own Valentine’s Day dinosaur box. We also have a video tutorial inside this post you will find helpful before you get started on your craft project.

Kids will need some assistance with the cutting and gluing steps in our tutorial so get ready for an afternoon full of fun creating this amazing dinosaur Valentine box together as a family.

Supplies needed to make your Dinosaur Valentine’s Day Box:

  • rectangle cardboard box (we used 10″ x 8″ x 6″)
  • square cardboard box (we 6″ x 6″ x 6″ size)
  • Testors® acrylic paint
  • Testors® clear adhesive (should only be used with parental supervision in a well ventilated area)
  • hot glue gun (adult supervision required)
  • sponge paintbrushes
  • paper plates (for paint palettes)
  • egg carton
  • green adhesive foam sheet
  • red adhesive foam sheet
  • white adhesive foam sheet
  • heart foam stickers (optional)
  • large googly eyes
  • scissors

Instructions for how to make a DIY Dinosaur Valentine Box

1. Start by prepping your two cardboard boxes. With the rectangle dinosaur body box, trace a circle at the top of the box and cut it out. With the square box, choose which of the open flap sides you want to be the dinosaur mouth. Trim down each of the four flaps around the box with scissors to start creating the mouth.

Now flip the box on it’s side and trace a triangle along the bottom edge for the mouth opening and draw lines down connecting the triangle to the box flap. (see photos below) Draw a triangle on the other side of the box as well.

Finally, trace a circle on the bottom side of the box, in the center. This should be the same circle traced on the rectangle box. Cut out each of the shapes drawn on the box.

See Also: DIY Geometric Canvas Bag

Four image collage showing how to cut the two boxes to make the dinosaur Valentine's box.

2. With parental supervision and in a well ventilated area, use Testors Clear Spray Adhesive to glue each of the box flaps closed. You can also use a hot glue gun with adults supervision if the adhesive spray is unavailable to you.

3. While the glue on the boxes dries, cut out the additional pieces you’ll need for your dino box. From an empty egg carton, cut out 5-6 individual pieces. From your cardboard scraps, cut out a dinosaur tail and two small rectangle strips to help you attach the eyes.

4. Cut out two dinosaur arms, two dinosaur legs, several white triangle dinosaur teeth and a large heart from green, white and red adhesive foam sheets. Set all of the pieces aside to use in a later step.

Four image collage showing the Testors adhesive spray, six egg carton sections cut from an egg carton, how to cut a dinosaur tail and strips to attach eyes and feet, arms and heart pieces you need to cut out of adhesive foam sheets.

Painting your Dinosaur Valentine’s Box

5. Pour some of your Testors Cactus acrylic paint onto a paper plate. Using a large spongebrush, paint all of the sides and the top of both of the prepped boxes. Also, paint the dinosaur tail and the two small pieces for your eyes. Let the paint dry completely.

6. Once your first layer of lighter green paint has dried, pour some Testors Green acrylic paint onto a paper plate. Dab a circle sponge brush into the green paint several times to coat it all over and then dab it onto the lighter green paint on the boxes. You’ll want some of the lighter green paint to show through to add to the texture of the dinosaur.

Four image collage showing how to paint the boxes with Testors Craft Cactus acrylic paint and then how to add a second sponge painted layer with Testors Craft green paint, and lastly how to paint the egg cartons with green paint.

Continue dabbing into the green paint and then onto your boxes until all sides are painted. You’ll also need to paint the tail and small rectangle eye pieces. Let the paint dry completely.

7. While you have your green paint out, use a small sponge paint brush to paint each of the egg carton pieces. Set them aside to dry with the boxes.

Four image collage showing how to glue all the pieces onto the dinosaur Valentine's box: the eyes, teeth, tail, egg carton pieces, arms, legs and heart.

Assembling the Dinosaur Box together

8. Align the two circles of the boxes together and glue the dinosaur head onto the dinosaur body.

9. Fold the two small painted rectangle cardboard pieces in half and glue the large googly eyes onto one half of the folded pieces. Then glue the eyes onto the top of the dinosaur head.

10. Glue the dinosaur tail on the back of the dinosaur, near the bottom of the box. Then glue each of the painted egg carton pieces in a line down the center of the dinosaur back and onto the tail.

Image showing back view of the finished dinosaur Valentine's box.

11. Peel the backing off the white teeth and place them on the top and bottom of the dinosaur mouth. Using a marker, write the child’s name on the large red heart. Then peel the backing off the heart and place it in the center of the dinosaur body.

12. Peel the backing off the dinosaur legs and feet and place them on each side of the dinosaur box. Then peel the backing off the dinosaur arms and place them on the sides of the box with the arms folded over the front of the box, holding onto the large heart.

13. Finish your Dinosaur Valentine’s box by decorating the front and back of the dinosaur with small foam heart stickers.

Side angle view of dinosaur Valentine's box.

Your T-Rex dinosaur box is complete! It’s sure to be a hit at your classroom Valentine’s Day party. Friends feed their Valentine cards and candy right into the open slot in the T-Rex’s mouth.

Then after school, reach your hand inside the dinosaur to pull out and discover all of your fun Valentine’s and treats.

Visit Testors® website for more information about their craft products and to get more arts and crafts ideas to make with your kids. 

Vertical two image collage with top picture showing someone putting a Valentine in the dinosaur box and bottom image showing side and back view angle of the dinosaur Valentine's box.

More Valentine Box Ideas and Valentine’s Day Arts and Crafts ideas

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All you need is two heavy duty paper plates and a few other simple supplies to make a Unicorn Valentine holder.

These easy heart windsocks make a fun and easy Valentine craft for little ones.

Check out our full list of over 40 Valentine’s Day arts and crafts ideas too!

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