Homemade Valentines Cards

Add a personal touch to your Valentine’s Day with Homemade Valentines Cards. You’re going to love creating these little beauties with and for your loved ones.

If you love this, you are going to love our Valentines tree and felt Valentine hearts traditions.

Many kids of all ages love to craft, and even more than that, they love to share love with the people in their lives. Creating Valentine’s cards is a fantastic way to let them express that love and enhance the fine motor skills of the little ones.

With only a few items from the local dollar store or craft store, you can create homemade valentines in a jiffy! And the lucky recipient of your handmade card is going to love your thoughtfulness.

At home we have an adorable heart-shaped box that we keep all our Valentine-making supplies in. Every year we pull it out and get to work making a special card or multiple cards. My kids love making their own cards, especially because we do it together. We set aside a day to create special cards for a best friend or loved one who could use a little extra love that year.

I always make sure to have a few snacks on hand like Valentine’s cake pops or the BEST Valentine cake mix cookies because crafting is always better with a little treat. This Christmas reindeer Chex mix recipe always fits the bill too. Anything to munch on while we work some paper magic is awesome.

Maybe you’re in the mood to make it a craft day with girls! Try making Valentine cards at a Galentines theme party and serve Valentines mocktails and share Valentines cookie gifts with all the special ladies in your life.

Even as a kid, I loved making my own cards. Whether it was for my classmates, a best friend, a teacher, or another special person in my life, I love sharing something I made with them. It always felt more personal and like it came from the heart. Getting to share something like that with my kids now, makes it even better. Seeing their creative minds work is always delightful,even if we’re making a crafty mess together.

So, maybe you’re new to DIY Valentines cards, or you’re looking for some fresh ideas. Trust me, beginners are welcome around here! And I can always endorse the desire to try something new that allows you to spend time with your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Why make your own cards?

• Because it is so much fun!
• Making your own cards allows a personal touch to the small gifts you share
• It’s a great way to spend time with the kiddos

How do you decorate Valentine cards?

Any way you want, honestly. The great thing about making your own Valentines is that there’s no right or wrong way to do it. This is where I like to get ideas from my kids. They always have a new idea, and I like to trust their instincts when it comes to creativity.

Every year I like to get something new to add to our crafty card collection. The craft store and the dollar store have hundreds of little things to place on your card. I look for anything that’s pink, white, or red, heart-shaped, or even silver and gold. The wedding, scrapbook, and floral sections of the craft store have a bunch of great options, so don’t limit yourself to only seasonal things. Like I said, there are no wrong answers. Let your creative heart sing!

If I’m the only one making cards, then I pull out a craft knife and fancy scissors. Some things that might be more dangerous for the little ones to use. But often, I cut out hearts and die cuts ahead of time so they’re ready to use when we start making cards. I likely have a bunch of stuff like this already in my heart box from the previous year as well.

Once you have a few things ready to go, you can use double-sided tape or glue to adhere papers, ribbons, glitter glue, or anything else to your cards. And you can start writing messages as well.

Things to keep in your heart box

If you decide to keep a heart box of your own for all your Valentine craft needs, this box will get better year after year because you’ll have so many adorable scraps and knick knacks from years past that you can continue using! Don’t throw anything away, trust me on this. All the leftovers can be used on a future card. Except for maybe any dried up glue. That can certainly be tossed.

Got leftover tissue paper from a baby shower gift? Toss it into the box! Dried some pretty flowers earlier in the year? They can go into the box too! Created extra love die cuts for a wedding card? Put those in the box! 

We like to keep things like these in our box:

• Doilies – Depending on the size, these are really easy to cut into pieces or glue on whole!
• Pink, red, and white paper – I feel like this is a given. I save any scraps I have and toss them into the box. Even the smallest piece of paper can be cut into a heart shape and used on a card.
• Glitter glue – This is a must, right? I love adding a sparkly flare without the mess of loose glitter. That’s one mess that just never goes away, as I’m sure most of you know. 
• Ribbons – Just like the paper, even the smallest scrap of ribbon can be turned into a bow or a border on a card, so save it all!
• Stickers – Stickers are a very simple way to add pizzazz to a valentine card and so easy for the little kiddos to apply because they don’t have to bother with extra glue or tape.
• Tissue paper – Ah, the many uses of tissue paper. Twirl a small square on the eraser of a pencil and stick several into a puddle of glue and ta da, you have a three-dimensional art piece! Bonus points if you create the shape of a heart.
• Hole punches – I love to punch out a bunch of heart-shaped paper and create a polka dot theme on a card. It’s so cute and saves time.
• Stamps –  Stamps are so versatile and they’re so cute! And there are so many stamps out there to use. I don’t keep the ink pads in this box because they would dry out only getting used once a year and that’s a bit wasteful. So, I pull those out separately.
• Scissors – I think it’s helpful to keep scissors in this box, but you don’t have to. If they’re more decorative scissors and I’ll only use them for Valentine cards, then I definitely keep them in this box.
• Cutout hearts – Whether I buy these, or cut them out myself I always keep them handy for this time of year.
• Pencils, pens, and crayons – I like to keep these in the box as well in case I want to color or trace certain shapes or write messages on my cards, they’re all ready for me.
• Heart-shape cookie cutters – These are great to have on hand for tracing a perfect heart. And they come in all different sizes.
• Blank cards – These always save the day, especially if I don’t want to cut out the card itself. You can simply use a blank card and decorate it to save a little time if you need to.
• Glue sticks – For obvious reasons… Glue sticks come in very handy and children are well-equipped to use this simple adhesive.
• Double-sided tape – No drying time! This works especially well for the little ones. You can simply place a bit of tape on the card to connect all the pieces of your artwork.
• Beads – These little flourishes are for more than jewelry. Glue them onto a card to create a unique and fun design.
• Buttons – Save all those extra buttons to toss into your box. Just like the beads you can create some fun designs with them, even use them on bits of string or ribbons.
• Bits of fabric – Because, why not? Fabric works just as well as paper and adds a different texture to your creation.

What messages can you put on a Valentine card?

In my opinion, the simpler the better. If you’re making a bunch of cards for your child’s Valentine’s Day party at school then you can add a simple, “Happy Valentine’s Day” to each card and it can come out adorable.

If you’re creating a card for a special someone, then a message that comes directly from the heart is always a beautiful way to tell someone you care about them.

I hope you love creating your own Valentine’s Day cards and make a tradition out of it like my family has. We love making them for our loved ones!

Happy Valentine’s Day!