make . Printable Valentine Fortune Cookies

Are there hearts and flowers in your future? Love is in the air, and it’s easy to share the good fortune on Valentine’s Day with these paper fortune cookies! I’ve been wanting to share more free downloads and paper craft ideas on the Small Pond Field Guide, and my daughter says that this one passes the cuteness test! Shaped like traditional Chinese fortune cookies, a batch of these paper creations would make a sweet addition to your Valentine decor, or a unique way to create handmade, personalized Valentines or party favors. Plus, they are easy and quick to make!

The first step in making your Valentine Fortune Cookies is to download the free printable! The pdf file includes two pages — one for the circles used to make the folded “cookies” and one for the “fortunes” that will be inserted. There are a set of blank “fortunes” you can use to write your own messages, or if love has you speechless, you can use the messages I’ve chosen.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Paper for printing the pdf
Scissors
Glue — any craft glue or hot glue will work
Paper clips

STEP 1: Print your fortune cookie parts! I used a light-weight card stock for the circles to make the cookies a little heavier and plain typing paper for the fortunes. I also printed some of the circles on a pale pink paper just to have some variety. You can experiment with papers you have on hand. The cookie circles on the printable are 4″ in diameter. You could also cut four-inch circles from solid colored paper for more variety.

STEP 2: Use scissors to cut out the cookie circles and fortunes. Now is the time to write your own fortunes and love messages if you would like to include them in your creations.

STEP 3: Begin making your first fortune cookie by folding one of the circles in half — NOT creasing the fold. When you have the outer edges lined up, take your thumb and gently make about a 1-inch crease in the center of the folded edge (as shown in the next two photos). This crease will make it easier to fold the paper into that distinctive fortune cookie shape.

STEP 4: Once you’ve made your one-inch crease, open the circle and rotate so that the crease is in the horizontal position. Now, place one of your fortune clips of paper in the center of the circle, ready for the next folding step.

STEP 5: Gently fold both sides of the circle toward the center on top of each other — NOT creasing the edges. If you end up with ceases, no worries! You can easily smooth them out once your folding is complete. But, keeping the edges loose will give your fortune cookies those fun curved ends and make it easier to slip out the fortune.

STEP 6: With the overlapping edges of the cookie facing away from you, use your fingers to hold the overlapping sides together, and gently fold the cookie along the one-inch crease made in Step 3 so that the top and bottom of the circle can touch. The overlapping edges should be on the outside of this creased fold. This part can be a little tricky, and I had to experiment a couple of times to get the fold just right.

STEP 7: With the creased fold slightly open, dab some glue between the sides and press together. Because I used a glue stick, I paper clipped the two sides together to be sure they held until the glue dried. Hot glue is another quick option for holding the fortune cookie together.