8 Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards That Trump Anything You’d Find in a Store

1. Fold a piece of cardstock to create the card, and cut a heart out of cardstock in a contrasting color.
2. Glue the heart to the front of the card.
3. Attach raw macaroni around (or inside) the cardstock heart using dots of craft glue. 
4. Embellish the card using a felt tip marker.

1. Use this PDF to print out a picture of a fish on colored paper. Cut it out.
2. Pleat the fins and tail by folding them accordion-style.
3. Use double-stick tape to assemble the fish.
4. Be careful when putting it into an envelope so as not to flatten the fins or tail.

1. Fold colored construction paper in half and cut out a set of butterfly wings.
2. Decorate the wings with a felt tip pen. 
3. Punch two holes in the center of the butterfly, and weave the lollipop stem through.
4. Glue a set of googly eyes to the head of the lollipop. 

1. Cut out two arrowhead shapes and two fletching shapes (the technical term for the fringes on the back of the arrow) out of colored cardstock. 
2. Glue the edges of the arrowheads together and insert the tip of the pencil. 
3. Glue the fletching shapes to the eraser side of the pencil.
4. Cut out a heart tag and use a gel pen to write a message. We love pencil puns, like “You’re just write.”
5. Tie the tag to the pencil with baker’s twine.

1. Purchase plastic frogs online—you can find them here on Amazon.
2. Cut hearts out of pink construction paper.
3. Use glue dots to attach a plastic frog to a paper heart.
4. Use gel pens to write your Valentine a note—we love, “You make my heart leap!” and “Hoppy Valentine’s Day!”

1. Use a red or pink inkpad to create thumbprint hearts on blank white stationery. Two ink colors will make the card even prettier.
2. You can create a “lovebug”—a caterpillar made out of thumbprint hearts—or just arrange them in a pattern on the card.
3. Embellish each design with a thin felt tip pen, and write your note along the bottom.

1. Cut a note card or cardstock into a circle, using wavy-edged craft scissors to get scalloped edges.
2. Apply bright lipstick and kiss each note card.
3. Draw in eyes and a nose to make funny faces, and write your Valentine a note on the back of the card.

1. Cut a spiral out of green or yellow construction paper.
2. Finish the outer edge of the spiral with a snakehead. The head should be a bit wider than the rest of the body.
3. Use a gel pen to embellish with eyes and scales.
4. Write a note down the body of the snake—look for words with the letter "s," like “You’re the besssssssst.”