Homemade Valentine's Day Cards from Recycled Material

Valentine's Day, February 14, is hurling towards us like Cupid's arrow. Many eco-conscious celebrators want to paint the town in red and pink and still leave the world green.

You can go green this Valentine's Day by sending your love on cards made of recycled materials. You'll save trees and save money but you'll give up some thought and some time. If it really is the thought that counts, homemade Valentine's day cards made of recycled materials will rack up the points every time over store bought cards.

So what materials can you recycle for your homemade cards?

Envelopes:

You didn't throw away those red or white envelopes those Christmas cards came in did you? They're perfect for cutting out hearts or doves, an early traditional Valentine's symbol.

Paper Grocery Bags:

Paper grocery bags make a great weight material for homemade cards. Recently my favorite grocery store started using bags with holiday print. No matter, the inside is still ink free and large enough to make many cards.

Magazines:

You can cut pictures or shapes from magazines that add a glossy flair to cards. Take out the articles you like, peruse for art work you need and still recycle the rest of the magazine.

Tissue Paper:

There's tons of this stuff floating around after the holidays. There's plenty to spare for accents on homemade cards and the rest can be saved for reuse next year.

Odds and Ends:

I often find accents in my junk drawer. You know the lone piece of yarn, the button I am never going to sew back on because I have no idea what it came off of or the free flower stickers sent to us by a charity asking for donations. You have one of these drawers, right?

What other materials will you need?

Scissors and glue and few good pens or markers are all you really need. I really do recommend a pair of pinking sheer scissors that create designed edges. These things make even a brown paper bag look fancy. You may also want to use a hole puncher to tie in ribbon.

Here are a few design ideas for homemade cards made from recycled materials.

Homemade Valentine's Cards that say Touch Me, Smell Me!
(See photo number one.)

Touch me cards have textures that are as appealing to the sense of touch as they are visually appealing. This card started with a pretty abstract magazine scene and is accented with left over ribbon, tissue paper balls and wood chips. Yes, wood chips. This one is for the man who keeps a fire in my wood stove. Seriously. I put the wood chips in the potpourri bowl for a few days first to add an appealing aroma too.

Homemade Valentine's Cards that are Layered wth Love!
(See photo two.)

This brown paper bag card, cut with pinking sheers is layered with glossy colored cut outs from a magazine. The light blue was a sky, the red was sherbet and the black was furniture. A few red and black pen designs finish off the edges and this card is simple, cute and says, "You've got my heart."

Homemade Valentine's Cards That Say it in Pictures:
(See photo three.)

With new previewing and printing technology most of us have fewer dud photos but still there are usually few that aren't framing or album material. Even if your Valentine's day evening is going to spent sitting in front of the fireplace- helping your kids put together the princess pony puzzle series, you can still dress yourself up on an personalized card.

Your imagination is a renewable resource. Use it. Homemade Valentine's Cards can be crafted from recycled materials other than paper. This year we tiled our kitchen and had several tiles left over. So this Valentine's day our kids are painting Valentine's cards onto the tiles and giving them to loved ones as coasters.

So maybe you skip the traditional card and write a poem on a bottle of wine. Yes, there are pens that write on glass at craft stores and they can also be used to personalize glasses or ornaments. Maybe you profess your love on a CD case. Maybe you create a card on a paper plate that is lined with a napkin and covered with chocolate covered strawberries and will be the first of many uncovered surprises of the evening.

So this Valentine's Day use your head to think green as your heart pumps out red.