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Mass-manufactured cards are nice, but
sometimes it's hard to find 'just the right one.' This year,
why not make your own Valentine greeting card? Listed below are a
few unique suggestions. Many of these would also be appropriate for
children to make for friends and family.
1)
Snowflake card
Remember
making paper snowflakes as a child? You only need a pair of scissors and a
piece of paper--we recommend pink or red paper. When cutting out
your snowflake, we recommend including half-heart shapes throughout.
When the snowflake is opened, it will include full heart shapes! Check out
Dave's
Paper Snowflakes for free heart snowflake patterns.
2)
Puff paint 3-D card
Find
a simple Valentine coloring page that you like; copy it to your desktop
and then resize it to fit on half or a quarter sheet of paper. (A
half sheet of paper for a half-fold card; a quarter sheet of paper for a
quarter fold card.) Print it out and fold it in half or
quarters. Then use Tulip's Dimensional fabric paints to outline and
color in the Valentine design. Give it plenty of time to dry before
writing your personalized message inside. For free Valentine coloring
pages, check out these websites: Kids
Domain, ChildFun,
Ivy's Valentine
Coloring Pages or
Primary
Games. (Note:
you can purchase Tulip's dimensional fabric paint at
Joann.com
).
3)
Honeycomb Valentine
'Honeycomb'
valentines were especially popular at the turn of the century. Many of
them popped open into a 3-D card of layered tissue paper when you pulled a
tab or object on the card. Today you can buy small honeycomb decorations
that can be incorporated into valentines. Check out The
Crafty PC
website for instructions on making an adorable Honeycomb Teddy Bear
Valentine.
4)
Spin Art Valentine
Pull
out that dusty, seldom-used salad spinner for this project! Put a
piece of white, pink or red construction paper in the salad spinner, then
add a couple drops of matching paint (red, pink, fuchsia, lavender or
purple) on top of the paper. Close the lid and turn the handle several
times. Take out the paper and sprinkle some glitter on top of
it. Let it dry and cut it into a heart shape.
5)
Pinprick Valentine
Revive
a Victorian art form with this Valentine! You will need red, pink or
purple paper, a sharp pencil or straight pin and a piece of corrugated
cardboard. Create a card by folding the colored paper in half. Then
open it up and lay it out so the front is flat. Lightly draw a
Valentine's day design (for example, a series of hearts) on the front of
the card. Place the card on the corrugated cardboard. Using
the sharp pencil or or straight pin, carefully poke holes to outline your
design. Keep the holes close together but try not to tear the paper. When
you have finished your pinprick design, write a customized message
inside the card.
6)
Lacy Victorian Valentine
It's
easy to create lacy valentines like those that were given during Victorian
times. You just need a paper doilies (look for gold and silver ones
at your party supply store), some pink or red cardstock paper, some
Victorian clipart and some glue. For a very pretty Victorian
Valentine, check out the Eras
of Elegance
website.
7)
Accordian folded Valentine Card
This
clever card is made with inkjet banner paper (available at office supply
stores like OfficeMax.com
). Take the banner sheet and fold it into equal sections.
On each section, draw pictures or use pictures cut from magazines to
create part of the message. The recipient unfolds each section of
the card, reads the message, and then goes on to the next section.
The complete message is revealed at the end of the card.
8)
Secret message valentines
For
this valentine, start with a piece of red legal-sized cardstock. Cut
the paper into a large heart. Then glue common objects onto the
heart to express your feelings for the recipient. Have him or her
guess the meaning behind each item (write the answers on another piece of
paper and seal it in a red envelope). Some of the objects you might
include on the card include:
-
A piece of popcorn
(You
keep popping up in my mind)
-
A match
(We
are a perfect match)
-
A piece of thread
(Love
ties us together)
-
Gold star sticker
(You
are my shining star)
-
Dove Promises candy
(Because
I promise to love and cherish you)
-
A candle
(Because
you light up my life)
-
Hershey's Hugs and Kisses
(Because
I can't give you enough hugs and kisses!)
-
A key
(You
hold the key to my heart)
Look
around your house for inspiration--once you start you will have hundreds
of items for this unique "secret message card."
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Other resources for
valentine card crafting
Handmade
Valentines
(from
the HGTV website)
Valentine
Note Generator
(this
nifty tool, from the Ben & Jerry's website, will help you write the
perfect love letter to that significant other!)
Be
Mine Valentine Card
(from
Fiskars website)
Valentine
Maze Maker
(just
enter a few variables and this website will create a heart-shaped maze for
you. Use it on a card for someone who loves mazes!)
Origami
Hearts
(From
Francis Ow Mun Yin's website. Directions for folding three unique
hearts from paper.)
Secret
Heart Card Template
These
sites include Valentine cards that you can print and color
Valentine
cards
(from
Sears Portrait studio website)
DLTK-Kids
Valentine Crafts
Billy
Bear's Playground (simple
cards that kids can print, color and give) |
