When our youngest was a wee babe of about 3 months, Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. To mark his first Valentine’s Day, I conjured up this easy Valentine to give to a chosen few. Almost a decade later, I still think it is so stinking cute. One of the greatest things about this keepsake card is that, aside from the photo, it was made using stuff we already had at home – nothing new to find and buy! I prepared and put the cards together assembly line-style, which worked really slick. Feel free to adapt it for your crew!
What I used:
- Colored cardstock
- Ribbon (or paper strips, fabric, glitter, markers, stickers, etc.)
- Wire (twist ties or pipe cleaners would also work)
- Craft felt (can use other scrap fabric, or more cardstock)
- Construction paper
- Glue and marker
- Cut cardstock to desired size – don’t forget to consider the size of the envelope, if mailing!
- Pick a good photo of a face, enlarging if needed. Cut out the face.
- Cut out 2 shirts and 1 set of legs from felt. Cut out 2 sets (front and back) for each hand. Make all proportional to the face.
- Decide where to place face, shirt and legs. Glue down face and legs.
- Measure wire so it fits from hand, through arms, to other hand.
- Sandwich wire between the shirts (liquid glue works best for this). Attach hands at the ends.
- Glue body onto the card.
- Embellish the edges.
- Add your message and deliver!
A decade later, this card is still a keeper. Something does not have to be professional looking or take a lot of construction time to make it memorable. In fact, sometimes being clever and using what you have is all you need. Of course, attaching a stinking cute face helps…speaking from experience.
