More homemade valentine goodness

Renee posted her stinkin' cute heart stamps made from cardboard the other day, and we've got a few more crafty-reuse projects to share today. I know it's really easy to go out and buy a box of Valentine cards for a classroom party, but I figure as long as my kids are enthusiastic about sharing homemade cards with their class, then let's keep down this path. There will probably come a day when they'll be horrified at passing out something they've drawn. (Sniff.) Plus we already had a hardy supply of cardstock, so might as well use it instead of bringing more paper into our lives. This year, instead of making each individual valentine (which, for us, often turns into a chore half-way through), they drew one picture and through the magic of scanning and printing, we ended up with lots:

They drew their pictures in black ink, and I scanned and mocked them up six to a page in Microsoft Publisher. After the cards were printed the kids colored in the red hearts and addressed them. Easy project, happy kids. Happy mom!

But it's not to say that more involved projects can't be just as fun and rewarding. Emily of Industrious Emily and her kids made little Valentine-themed coloring books and homemade crayons for a small group of children. The crayons were made from bits of old crayons, and the books were stitched up the middle with a sewing machine. Just brilliant! Check out her site for detailed instructions.

 
Photo credits: IndustriousEmily.com

I don't typically spend much time making Valentine's for my kids -- a quick cut-out heart usually does the trick. But yesterday I spied a project in the Oregonian's Home & Garden section that looked fun and manageable and involved colorful images ripped from an old magazine and whatever patterned paper I could dredge up from the craft stash. For each card I traced and cut out six hearts from the magazine and six from the paper. Place one magazine heart back-to-back with one paper heart and then stack them all up and stitch them up the middle on the machine using a heavy needle. Gluestick the back-to-back sections of the hearts together (I haven't done this yet in the photo) and fold them along the middle so they 3-Dify. (Far more elegant instructions can be found at that link above.)

My kids are in the next room, forcing me to photograph these in the worst.light.possible. Anyhoodle, it's a fun project and I think they'll look cute dangling from a chandelier. Best part of these projects? I didn't need to leave the house.

Happy sweet weekend to all of you!