365 Designs: Homemade Valentine's Day Cards with Martha Stewart Crafts Studded Heart Punch All Over The Page >

Homemade Valentine's Day Cards with Martha Stewart Crafts Studded Heart Punch All Over The Page

  There is little more rewarding than making your own greeting cards. Giving someone your own handmade card really tells them how much you care. They always say "It's the thought that counts". Card making shows how true this really is.  Whether your making this for a friend or for that someone special it'll show how much you appreciate them. You can even try making these cards together. Everyone gets a card, some glitter and a little glue. A great family activity for those bitter cold winter afternoons.
 Click continue reading below the photo to see the whole page..





































































TO MAKE THIS CARD YOU'LL NEED


  • Pre-folded blank card set. David Tutera sells a great line of quality cards at JoAnn's. You can always just cut and fold your own card stock if you prefer. I just can never seem to cut or fold in the correct direction of the  paper grain. 
  • Martha Stewart Crafts Studded Heart Punch All Over The Page
  • Glue Pen
  • Glitter
  • Glitter Glue or Decoupage medium

  To begin you have to use your punch to punch out the heart shape in the center upper middle of your card. You can easily make sure your punch is centered by holding the bottom up to the light and then aligning the top. Hold the paper steady, place it on the table and just press down.
  These great punches are so easy and fun to use. They are held together by strong magnets that ensure an exact alignment every time. They are a little bulkier than the other punches. You have to use two hands, preferable standing. And don't use them at night while everyone is sleeping .... they have a slight bang to them. Other than that, they are perfect. I love this heart shaped punch since it doubles, actually triples, as a four leaf clover punch(put 4 hearts together at their points) and a flower petal punch(simply cut the heart in half for a flower petal)



































Fold the card in half and fill in the heart area with a colored pencil or marker matching your chosen glitter color. Open the card and draw a heart 1/2 inch around the heart you just drew. Fill this all in with the marker or crayon or whatever matching color to your glitter. You want a matching color because glitter often leaves tiny blank spots in which the underlying paper shows through. By coloring this in, you are just enchancing the color.
Using a glue that is made for paper(to prevent paper wrinkling) fill in the heart. Use a brush to evenly distribute the glue. Generously sprinkle the glitter. Let it dry for about 15 minutes. Fold the card in half to collect the glitter and pour the leftover back into the container.







































Using your glue pen and starting 'off the edge' of the card write something simple in cursive. I chose love. I'm not one of those people who can write perfect horizontal and vertical letters. It actually drives me crazy. Me trying to write on cards usually ends up with me just tossing it, taking a new one, and running it through the printer. Even when I try a carefree sort of handwriting (such as the one used for this card) it ends up in the trash. I found out that I can write the word 'love' pretty easily; so that's the word that stuck. Perfect for Valentines Day!



Using a craft mat or scrap paper begin writing 'off ' of the card. In a free flowing and swift manner write your word ..trailing off the page. Next you need to just fashion a small bow and hot glue it to the top of the card. By the way I'll include a link on how to make a tiny bow with a fork... whoever was the first person to think of this is a genius...http://youtu.be/nmV0XRdq1mo

Well that's it. You're done! Your very own homemade Valentine's Day card. Minus the punch, you probably already have the other supplies. That makes this card  both fun and very inexpensive. And why stop at Valentine's Day. You can make this in any color and write anything you want. Plus it gives you an excuse to break out the glitter!! Oh and on a quick last side not. For a great old fashioned air mail envelope look you can take the matching one and trim it with a border of washi tape folded over. Then grab some label stickers for a finished look. 

Thanks for stopping by 
and keep a look out for my next post with some great ideas for Valentines Day candles.