Time for some love-inspired chit-chat on the blog this morning! As we all know, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. And as we all also know, this holiday can bring up a lot of feelings – Joy, loneliness, appreciation and sometimes bitterness. It’s certainly not all fun and games for those with broken hearts this year, but sometimes friends and family are the best “Valentines” there are.
I remember as a kid getting to hand out little handmade valentines made from cut construction paper and stickers to my girlfriends in elementary school and how much fun it was to see the ones I got in return. This year, I wanted to do something similarly creative (although a bit more refined) for my girlfriends at work, who have become lifelong pals since I started my job last July. After a quick search on Pinterest, I knew exactly what I was going to do…
Source: BeDifferentActNormal.com
Although I have NO problem dropping some cash on these lovely ladies (they certainly deserve it), I was a wooed by the $0 pricetag – The main supply needed for this project was a handful of free red paint chips from the hardware store. I chose two different ones and grabbed a bunch since I wasn’t sure how badly I might mess up and need extras…With names like “Crimson Spark” and “Sultry,” they seemed like the right chips for my DIY valentines.
The tutorial from the Pinterest project says to use “X” and “O” stamps to decorate the paint chips. Since I didn’t have “X” and “O” stamps on hand, I simply hopped on Microsoft Word and found two “X” fonts I likes and one “O.” Then I printed them out on a white sheet of printer paper. The idea was to trace the letters onto the chip squares by pressing them up against a window in the afternoon sun. Worked like a charm!
The last step for the front of the cards involved a little old-fashioned coloring in the lines. I used a collection of Sharpie markers we had in the house to color in the letters, although I need to warn you that paint chips apparently have some odd coating that wipe out Sharpies. I think I went through five permanent markers to get the letters filled in, and they are still a little watery looking (i.e. not solid black). It’s the thought that counts right?! I’m still pleased with how they turned out…
Here they are in the midst of coloring them in on my drafting table in the studio…
…and here they are all done and drying…
After having done this project with Sharpies, I would definitely recommend picking up some kind of EXTRA EXTRA permanent marker, although I worry that whatever film is on the paint chips might ruin even the most hardy of permanent markers. Next time, I’ll probably try a black paint pen or something from a craft store.
Another word to the wise, I ended up letting them dry overnight because they looked a little smudge-able even several hours after coloring them in. All were dry to the touch the next morning though!
The last step was to make the backs of the chips ready for a message – I wanted the girls to have some kind of sweet valentine message to read, but as you can see in the photo below, the back of my DIY valentines were covered in paint information. So I cut up little sheets of cream-colored card stock to fit the back of the paint chips and then attached them using rubber cement.
Here is Beth’s valentine all done and ready for delivery at her desk this morning!
I am giving all of the girls their valentines today since I’m spilling the beans on the blog now – Hope they enjoy them and can turn a blind eye to the slight imperfections of a hand-made valentine a-la elementary school days.
How did you (or do you plan) to celebrate your valentine(s) this year? Any other DIY card ideas to share? I can’t wait for the heart-shaped blueberry muffins my mom always makes us for Valentine’s day – I am getting a special delivery of them tomorrow morning!
Happy Valentine’s Day from DG-DIY to you <3
Want more pins? Click here to see what’s “pinspiring” me!
