Home-Made Valentiens Day Cards!

Did you know?

Since the Middle Ages sweethearts have exchanged valentines on February 14 -- a date commemorating the death of a Roman priest named Valentine who performed forbidden marriages.

Here are some fun home made valantiens day card ideas that are easy and cute to do for that special person in your life!

Hearts and Blocks Valentines

1. Press a heart-shaped cookie cutter into an eraser to make a heart-shaped stamp; use the utility knife to cut out rectangular and square blocks, which can either provide a background for the hearts or serve as the main design.
2. When planning designs, experiment with color and form: Try complementing pink with neutrals and greens, or use pale-colored ink on dark paper. Combine shapes in unexpected ways to create elegant effects: A silhouetted heart surrounded by color blocks, for example, suits the space as nicely as hearts in rows.

Heart Seals

Tug at your valentine's heartstrings with an embellished envelope. Cut out the hearts from colored card stock using a specialty hole punch (available at crafts stores). Poke two holes into each heart with a needle, then sew the hearts onto dual-capacity envelopes (buy your own or download our template) using the needle and silk beading cord. Secure stitches with a double knot on the backside of the flaps. After inserting the valentine, close the envelope by winding a 5-inch length of the cord in a figure-eight motion around the hearts.

Glittered Cards

1. Start with stamp rubber-side up. Ink the stamp by lightly tapping with ink pad. Once the stamp is completely covered, lift it straight up. Hold stamp an inch from your mouth and "huff" on it to remoisten the ink.
2. Using a ruled cutting mat as a guide, find the center of your card. Stamp the image onto card. Let ink dry.
3. Highlight details with a fine-tip glue pen. Sprinkle glitter. Let dry.
4. Sign name in ink color that matches stamps. Brush off excess glitter with a soft paintbrush.

Stiched Hearts

1. Fold a piece of construction paper into a card (our card is a 5 1/2-inch square), or use a blank pre-made card. Using scissors or a heart craft punch, cut six same-size, 1 1/2-inch-tall heart shapes from construction paper in different colors (if using scissors, use one heart as a template to trace the remaining five). Fold hearts in half lengthwise, creating creases down their centers.
2. Cut two 2-by-4 1/2-inch paper rectangles. Use a small piece of double-sided tape to affix each rectangle horizontally to the front of the card (as shown). Make two pencil marks on each heart's center crease, 1/2 inch apart; use a microhole punch or an embroidery needle to make a hole at each mark.
3. Affix three hearts to each rectangle on the card, overlapping the hearts slightly (as shown). Poke the needle through the holes in each heart and through the front of the card. Cut a 3 1/2-inch length of waxed twine, and thread it through the holes of one heart so that a single stitch shows on the outside and the loose ends are inside. Pull loose ends of twine until the stitch is taut, and tie in a knot. Trim ends. Repeat with remaining hearts.

Valentine Flowers

1. Cut out five to eight hearts of the same size, and inscribe them. Use a pushpin to make a hole near the pointed end of each heart.
2. For a wire stem, thread a small bead onto a piece of 24-gauge wire cut a little longer than you want the stem to be; twist the wire so the bead stays at the end. Thread hearts on the other end until all the hearts are stacked against the bead. Twist the wire again to keep the hearts in place. Cover the stem with floral tape, or glue ribbon around the wire.
3. For a ribbon stem, thread a bead to the center of a 3-inch length of wire, and bend the wire in half. Send the ends through the hole in each heart. On the back, form the two ends into a small loop around the midpoint of a length of ribbon; trim the excess wire.

Quilling Valentines: Stationery

These open hearts begin as single strips of paper; crease them at the center and then roll inward from each end. Glue several to a card, and write candy-heart sentiments beneath them. Or slip one to a secret and let it speak for itself.
Classic valentine messages never go out of style. You can shape individual strips of paper, curling the ends as you would a ribbon, to form letters that resemble calligraphy. Use carefully placed dabs of craft glue to hold each letter in place