If you want to give your hubby a Valentine’s Day card that is more special than one you buy at the store – and costs only pennies to make – here’s a recipe for a homemade card worthy of space on your wall all year long (at least that’s what I did after making the card pictured for my husband a couple years ago).
Start with four pieces of sturdy cardstock. I used postcards for mine but you could also use index cards, halves of old greeting cards (you'll cover up any text), or just a piece or two of plain cardstock you cut into halves or fourths.
Next, find the images you want to put on the cards. I scoured old magazines and cut out pictures of flowers, hearts, etc. as well as using pages from a notepad with the word “February” and a border design of hearts. Use your imagination. If you’re a scrapbooker like me, doubtless you have lots of little stickers and embellishments to use. You could also incorporate crystals, candies (such as red hots), ribbon – anything in the colors of red and pink or anything that says “Valentine’s Day” to your sweetheart and can be glued onto the cardstock.
Print out the letters “L”, “O”, “V”, and “E” on your computer printer. You can print the letters in color ink on a white background or in black ink on a sheet of colored paper. Carefully cut them out. Use a large font; depending on the size of your cards, the letters should be about two-thirds as high as the card so that it takes up most of the space, but not all.
Thin down some Elmer’s glue with water so the consistency is easily spreadable with a paintbrush. This is your “decoupage glue”.
Arrange your pictures and embellishments on a card and glue them into place using a paintbrush and the thinned down Elmer’s mixture. When the background is complete, glue one of the letters on top (you’re creating four so each one will have the one of the letters you printed; the collection of four will spell “Love”).
After you’ve glued all the pieces onto the cards, take them outside and lightly spray with a clear spray paint in semi-gloss or matte finish. Don’t saturate them since they’re made of paper; just a thin coat to set the decoupage is sufficient. Let dry.
When the cards are ready, take a length of ribbon and connect each, gluing the ribbon into place on the back side of each card (I used a hot glue gun). Your arrangement can either be vertical, like mine, or horizontal. Create a loop on one end (the “L” card for a vertical arrangement) or at each end (for a horizontal arrangement) and fasten it with another small ribbon tied into a bow so that the card can be hung.
You can write a sweet Valentine’s Day message to your sweetie on the reverse side of any – or all – of the cards.
To present it in an envelope, stack the cards one on top of the next.
There you go! A personalized Valentine’s Day card that cost pennies to make but will be remembered forever.
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