Homemade Valentine's Day Cards from Recycled Material

Making cards from recycled materials can happen any time of the year. It is especially nice to have them around Valentine's Day. There is something special and magical about this day, or at least about this holiday that we have created. Valentine's Cards can be given to your special sweat heart or any of your friends and loved ones. Whoever you are giving cards to, you can indeed used recycled materials to make it something special.

To complete this project you will need scissors, glue mixed with water, an inexpensive paint brush, a thick glue if you are using fabrics, and regular white glue if you are using just paper materials, card stock or a piece of lightweight cardboard, and the things you wish to decorate your cards with. Some great decoration ideas include: silver foil from gum wrappers, the outside wrappers, kool aid packages, wax paper, scraps of material, ribbon, or threads and yarns, and even Christmas wrapping paper scraps, gift bags, or tissue paper. The goal is to come up with something eye appealing, fun, and recycled. The basic steps are simple and how or with what you complete them is truly up to your imagination and what you have laying around the house.

To begin with take you will need card stock or lightweight cardboard. The best place to get lightweight cardboard from is the back of legal pads or other notebooks. Other lightweight cardboard can be used, however the solid types are easiest to work with because you don't have to cover up what is already there (unless you don't want to cover up whatever is there, which can work as well). You can change the color of your cardboard by painting it, however some paints may come off. If you just want to change it a little you can dye it using water colors or food dye with a little water. You will want to fold your cardboard in the way that you desire your card to open. This may be in half so that it opens from right to left or from bottom to top or you can get really creative and fold it in thirds. Make sure that however you fold it you start on the side that is the top. I have finished a card only to find out it opens backwards!

To decorate your top you can use almost anything. You can cut hearts out from cereal boxes that have red or pink. You can use the foil from the gum wrappers. You can use kool aid packages to cut up into hearts or to glue to the entire surface. The project really is yours! You can add words by clipping out letters from boxes or newspapers and magazines or you can write your own with markers. You can also make a very lovely card by gluing on lace, ribbon, and material scraps. An even more fun look can be felt scraps.

The inside can be decorated with tissue paper or wax paper. If using wax paper you won't be able to write on it. However, both of these papers can be can be reused from other projects. Use the glue water mixture to wet the inside of the card and attach the paper of your choice. If you are using tissue paper try to flatten it out as best you can. Wrinkled paper looks cool, but is harder to write on. It is a good idea to put a layer of glue on top of tissue paper as well. You can write in your card after it is dry or you can print something off on the computer and glue that in. Make sure you save the scraps from cutting it out for something else!

An elegant and beautiful card can be made using light colored material, lace, and ribbon on the outside. Lettering can be added by either to the material or the card stock or it can be cut out of other products or printed off from the computer. The inside can be made with light colored tissue paper and a small printout of what you want to say. You can frame the printout with ribbon or lace as well.

A fun and fancy card can be made with hearts cut out of boxes or wrappers and attached to the front. Bright colored ribbon can be added to make this even more fun. Or confetti and glitter. Even bright colored felt scraps can be added! The inside can be made with smooth wax paper and topped with similar decorations to the front of the card. Your printout can be framed with additional hearts or bright colored ribbon.

Whatever you decide, the most important thing is to have fun. Enjoy your time working on this labor of love. Your imagination is the only thing that keeps you from hundreds of great designs using things you have laying around the house. If you are planning on making lots of Valentine's Day cards, it's never too early to get started!