Valentine's Craft

Tomorrow, we turn the calendar from the month of January to February.  Then, after the hubbub of Super Bowl Sunday is over, we have 11 short days to prepare for Valentine's Day!  Last year, I decided I would "take" Valentine's Day and prepare a nice, hopefully restaurant-quality, meal for Ben and I to enjoy.  This year, I told him I would do the same because it was tradition--we've done it this way for all of our Valentine's Day's together!  :).  Anyway, last year, I wandered around Hobby Lobby to find inspiration for a homemade gift for my valentine.  I found the seasonal scrapbook paper and thought "how pretty...what do I do with it?" and abandoned it to walk into the stickers and premade cards area.  I found what I was hoping to: a card-like pocket with Popsicle-stick sized tabs in it detailing "Things I love about you."  I didn't like the colors on it, and it cost way more than I thought it should, so I took it with me back to the scrapbook paper.  I picked out various sheets of lightweight paper for accents, and some heavier paper for making the pouch and "sticks."  I already have a heart-shaped hole-punch, so I knew I would be able to add detail with that.  Anyway, I left Hobby Lobby with enough materials to make two cards, and having spent about 20% of the original price.  It was nice to be able to make something even better than the original (in my opinion...I didn't photograph the original for other people's comparison) for less!  And, since it was handmade, it has added sentiment!  Guys, you could do this too.  I know this version is a little too flowery for most guys to want to make, but you could easily adjust it to your crafting comfort level. :).

Mid-point of the project.  These are my materials, though!

Materials:
2 or 3 different colored pages of card-stock style paper
As many "pretty" accent papers as you desire
Scrap paper if you want to "test" things and make templates before cutting into your expensive paper
Glue Stick
Scissors (regular and "fancy" if you want to decorate your edges)
A small, heart-shaped paper punch
Marker/Calligraphy Marker
Pen

I have one of the table-top, paper-cutting, guillotine knife things which I used because I cannot cut a straight line.  :)  If you have one of those, it might make your life a little easier.  If not, cut as straight a line as possible.

Step one: Make your pocket.  I eyeballed this.  I wanted mine to be card-sized, so it was about 4 inches wide and 6 inches tall.  Essentially, I cut the paper long-ways to be about 4" wide.  I wanted the back taller than the front so the tabs would be supported and not bend backwards, so I allowed the back to be about 1/2" taller than the front when I folded the paper.  Once you have it folded to your liking, run some glue along the inside edges, press, and let dry while you make the other stuff.

Step two: Cut your tabs/sticks to be about the height of your pocket and about 3/4 of an inch wide.  You want to be able to have enough room to write, and also fit a heart punch-out or some form of decoration on it.

Some of my basic tabs.  I used the fancy scissors on the tops of some to make them more decorative.

Step three: Add decoration to everything.  I mostly used my heart-punch and some fancy (not-really) scissor-work to cut out hearts from the paper I bought. I also decorated my pouch.  First, I grabbed a scrap piece of paper and cut it to the size I wanted for the overlay.  I then decided how I wanted to space my writing.  Then I cut out an appropriate sized piece of my pretty, basically white sheet of heart paper and wrote "Things I Love about You!"  I glued that on the front of the pouch, and then cut out pieces from my scrapbook paper to decorate around it.

A specially-decorated tab. 

Another special tab. Two heart punch-outs over-laid, one with a baby heart from the white heart paper topping it, and then a cut out of the heart punch-out with a white background. This was supposed to be the last one he read if went from right tab to left tab...but he is left handed so he read from left to right...

The pouch with decoration.

Step four: Write what you love about the person!  As a suggestion, say some general girlfriend/boyfriend or wife/husband things, but also be specific to the person or your relationship.  For instance, if he does the dishes after you make dinner, put that on a tab! If you appreciate that she packs a lunch for you even though her mornings are really busy, too, tell her!  Talk about how you feel around the person.

Step five: Sign the back of the pouch.  Fill the pouch.  Find a nice way to present it to your Valentine.  I set it on his plate for him to read through while I was putting the finishing touches on dinner.

The filled pouch.  I really liked making the tabs, so I made a little too many.  I had to put them in fan-shaped rather than in straight, but no big deal.  And, then I had to organize them properly so they would have a crescendo effect, but, if you do that, be sure to tell the recipient to start with a particular one.  Or visibly number them!

Enjoy!  And Happy Valentine's Day!