Quick and simple valentines

Valentines day tomorrow? Need a really simple and quick idea? Don’t have any thing besides your own stuff on hand? Read on for how I made the kids’ class valentines using what I had on hand and two small sticker packs from the craft store. Supplies: sheets of 8 1/2x 11 red cardstock, Hero Arts heart infinity die set, die cutting machine, Versa Mark Ink, Recollections White Embossing Powder and some valentines and critter stamps. Read on for how I put together these valentines for my kids.

To build the heart shaped cards, I cut 3 1/4” wide strips of red cardstock I had on hand. I then folded each strip in half. I then selected a heart from the Hero Arts infinity hearts dies that would fit across. I partially die cut the heart. I lined up the top of the heart just above the fold so the heart was cut out except for the very top. This preserves the fold line and connects the heart pieces together. I used purple tape for each card to hold the die in place.

A few years ago, I picked up a jar of heart stamps with designs and saying on them at Michaels. Right at Home has a stamp set, Kiss Kiss, which has hearts and sayings that fit within the hearts. This stamp set reminds me of candy hearts. On the front of each heart card, I placed some powder, stamped the heart image in versamark ink and poured white embossing powder on it. I decided to emboss the images because white pigment ink would take a long time to dry and would not give such a clear white image. I stamped and poured the embossing powder on each one and then waited until I had done this to all the heart cards to set the powder with my heat tool. 

I have two children and they are in different classes. On a trip to Michaels, I found one pack of scratch n sniff valentine stickers. One of my children stuck that sticker to the inside of the card. For the other set of valentine cards, I scoured all the critter images within my stash, selected those that were cute for 8 year olds and could fit in the heart shape. I used images from: Waffle Flower Willy and Friends and My Favorite Things Jungle Vibes.

The kids wrote the recipients’ name on each card as well as their name on the inside. We used Uniball gel pens to do all the writing since the cardstock was so dark. I hope this post inspired you to try home made valentines. Although these are simple, I think the handmade card is really sweet. Have a crafty day.

UPDATE: when the kids came home from school on Valentine’s Day, I asked how the other kids liked their cards. Both kids reported that their classmates really liked the cards and were excited about which critter they got or which scratch n sniff sticker they got. The biggest part was my children’s pride in making something to give to others. It made the kids feel good about giving something they had made to the other kids who felt that love and really liked the cards. It’s really the act of giving where the power lies. Please try this yourself and just give a little note to someone. Let me know in the comments when you’ve received or given something from the heart and how that made you feel.