Creative Ideas for DIY Handmade Valentine Cards

I have such fond memories of making Valentine’s Day cards when I was a child and when my children were young. Granted, the store bought ones are so much easier, but what says love better than a card created by your own two hands. There are easy ways to make your own card, especially now with all the digital resources available to us. The only handmade Valentine’s themed cards I tend to make now, are the invitations to our nearly annual Valentine’s party Here are some creative ideas for DIY handmade Valentine’s Day cards.

Supplies You will Need

• A good quality white card stock paper or other color
• Watercolor pencils
• Water
• Your imagination

If you are a newbie artist, this set of 12 watercolor pencils by Derwent may be perfect for you. There are sets with 72 pencils too, if you are feeling ambitious.

What I love about these pencils is that you can draw your image and then add water to it ~voila! a watercolor! Depending on the amount of water, your color can be intense or diluted~it’s all up to you. I find that experimenting a bit on a spare piece of paper will help you achieve the results your are seeking.

Keep a bit of paper toweling nearby so you can blot extra water and keep your brush clean between colors.

Card Paper Type and Weight

No one likes flimsy cards so getting the right paper is the key. You can find several types of card stock here.

The most common weight is 80 lb cardstock, weighing approximately 225 GSM (grams per square meter) or 400 sheets to a ream. This type of cardstock is usually used for invitations and business cards. The next step up from this would be 110 lb cardstock which weighs 360gms/m2 or 500 sheets to a ream – this type of paper can also be used for invitations, but it’s more commonly found in postcards and handmade greeting cards.

I also use my sketch book which has 98 lb. mixed media paper. I use the 7″x 10″ size which easily folds into notecards.

Paper Size

The standard size for handmade cards is half of an 8 ½ inches by 11 inches cardstock paper, folded in half. This is also known as an A2 size card. Depending on the size of your paper, you can truly make your card size whatever you want.

Card Design Options

It is easy to create your own Valentine design. For the cards above, with a light pencil I make the outline of a heart and then draw flowers and vines. No rhyme or reason, just what comes to me. Sorry for the blurry photo below as it is a screen shot from a video.

Of course, you can download a number of images from the Internet and trace them on your card stock too.

Using Paints and Pencils

Here is a card where I use watercolor pencils, watercolor paints and a combination of white and pink card stock. By combining various tools you can add texture and depth to your holiday card.

Personally, I have always found watercolors a bit intimidating. But like most things, the more you work with them, the less scary they become.

Inside these cards to our guests are the details to our Valentine dinner party. Create whatever message you would like!

Other Ideas for Homemade cards

You certainly do not need to be an experienced artist to make a Valentine card. Here are some cute and simple ones as featured in Real Simple Magazine.

Here is a very cute and simple one that you can download here from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.

Using decorative paper is another easy way to make your Valentine’s Day card special. All you need is some embroidery thread and glue. You can find the detailed instructions from Prima here.

The possibilities are endless but at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts. Will you be making a card for your Valentine?

Happy Creating!

This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch 785th Metamorphosis Monday.