~Three Ways~ to Make Recycled Valentines

Valentine’s Day is next week.  Are you ready?

  This year, I wanted to put a homemade spin on my valentines cards, and I like them so much more than the store bought variety.  I started with a collection of scrap paper, art supplies and random odds and ends.  Here are the three unique card ideas I came up with:

Alice in Wonderland Dormouse

This little mouse from Alice in Wonderland is so cute.  My litter of origami mice was made from scrap paper by following a simple tutorial from honeykid.com.  Each mouse I folded got a little bit easier.  

Blue scrap paper was cut and folded to create the tea cup envelopes with hot glue.  The decorative band on the cup was cut from a piece of free fancy tissue paper from a store.  The cashier wrapped a set of glasses in it to keep them safe.  I decided it was too pretty to throw away.

To make the little note card, I cut a tea bag shape from an old manila folder, punched a hole near the top and tied embroidery thread to make the string.  Another piece of the folder was glued to the other end of the string with a heart drawn on it.  I tucked the mouse in the cup envelope with the teabag card.  There's also still room in there for some valentines candy. 

Special Delivery 

The most romantic Valentine's Day gift I have ever received was a flower delivery from my husband.  At the time, we were just dating and I was working at a flower shop.  He had them delivered right to my workplace from another shop!  This little rose box was once a playing card.  

I folded the card on the gray lines, cut where you see pink lines, and glued on the blue dots.  

To make the stem of the rose, I cut a bamboo skewer slightly smaller than the box.  Using pink tissue from a Victoria's Secret bag (left over from my Love Pink Pomanders), I bunched it up into a rose around the tip of the skewer and glued it in place.  Floral tape twisted around the stem is the finishing touch.  If you don't have floral tape, paint the stem green.  

Put your rose in the box with a sweet note and add a bow to keep it's contents a surprise until delivery.

Cupid's Bow & Arrow

This little bow and arrow set is adorable and easy to make.  Start by searching through magazines for pages with Valentine's Day colors.  Fashion and glue pieces of the pages to the end of a toothpick to create the 'feathers'.  Cut tiny slits in each feather to add texture.  Use two paper scraps to make the tip by gluing them back-to-back to the other end of the toothpick.  I gave my arrows a heart shaped tip, but a simple triangle would also look good. 

The base of the bow is an unfolded paper clip.  By pinching the bends with a pair of pliers, I was able to smooth them into straight segments of wire.  Bend your wire into a cupid's bow and attach the bowstring (embroidery thread) with hot glue.  Find a cute bag for your bow & arrow, add some candy and write a sweet little letter to go inside.  Now you're ready to share these handmade valentines with the people you love!