Valentine's Day Craft for Guys: The Framed Love Letter

Guys, here's another Valentine's Day craft that will send your woman shivering and make her melt, according to my wife. Maybe your wife isn't the kind of lady who gets weepy or emotional in a good way over stuff, but this is one present any woman can appreciate. It's like a Best Buy gift card. You might not be a gadget-type person, but there is ALWAYS something a man can get at Best Buy. Anyway, the framed love letter is all you need to put the Valentine's Dinner over the top.

Here's what you'll need:

One large frame, pre-matted, about 14"X 20", shiny black or silver

8 ½" X 11" Blank paper, preferably egg shell colored and heavy matte

Light-pink paper slightly smaller than the frame

Neat handwriting or someone with neat handwriting

If you have the skills, pen and ink or a nice rolling black pen

My generic fill-in-the-blank letter guide

One wallet-sized pic of you two together, black and white

Glue stick

You can get good frames at Michael's or AC Moore's craft stores. If you get desperate, go to Target and NOT Wal-Mart. She will immediately know that you went to Wal-Mart for the frame, regardless of the effort and sentiment of the gift. Target is slightly more upscale in a roundabout way. If your house or her apartment already has frames of silver and black, that's ok. Just make sure the one you pick is going to stand out and complete your Valentine's Day craft.

The paper can also be bought at those craft stores. Get some paper that's made for pen-and-ink, not just that Xerox paper you stole from work. It will make a huge difference. Think of it this way: if she went out and bought you a pack of Olympia beer but could've got Guinness for the same price, you would know. Don't skimp on the lady!

And now for the hard part. Most romantic letters to the wife or significant other must be very, very specific about what you love about her, devoid of negative words (unless they are about your being unworthy to her greatness), include the happiest memories only shared by you two, and an inside joke. They must also be very real. Don't tell her you love her eyes if you don't, or you've never had a fight if you have. Make it real and make it full of positive things about her. If you're going this far to impress her, you can do it Here's my generic letter. Use as a MODEL ONLY.

My love,

This letter will never completely tell you how much I love and appreciate you, but it will always be a start. We've been together for ---- years, --- months, and ---- days, yet it's only the beginning of the time God wants us to be together. It's only the beginning of forever with you, and that makes me very happy.

From the day I met you at ------, I knew there was something about you that would keep us together. Maybe I didn't know it at first. Maybe I questioned how I could be blessed with someone with such a beautiful soul, who always ---------- to make me happy, who would never leave my side and would want to be with me forever. But I'm glad we stayed together, grew together and will grow together forever.

I'm happy someone like you is here for me to share times like when we-------, or when we ---------. Remember when we----- (inside joke)? Why would I want to laugh with anyone else? Life is a journey, but it's a fun journey.

I'm blessed that I can look into your eyes, stare into your heart and see God, hold you in my arms and feel love. I'm blessed to know that I can count on you to be the person that will always ---------- for me and stand by me when no one else will.

Please read this and take it to heart. I take it to heart as I write it. I love you.

Ok, dry the man-tears. Again, use this as a model. If you fill this in word for word, you MIGHT get away with it, but this is about creating something meaningful. Those dashes are the specifics of your relationship.

If you're going to do the writing yourself, practice the same letter on another piece of paper. Do it three or four times. You want it to be legible with no crunched up words in the end and evenly spaced. Heck, even print it out on a computer, but DO NOT FRAME A PRINTED LETTER! It will take away from the quality.

If you don't have neat handwriting, find one of her buddies or her co-workers that does. Don't pick one that will give the secret away, but there is a good strategy move to this, too. For one, someone at her job will know that you're being sweet, and it always helps when someone other than your wife can say something nice about you when you aren't around. If you can't find anyone, check out the English majors at the local schools or high schools and pay them. Teenagers and college-age kids always could use an extra Jackson in the pocket. Just make sure you sign your name at the end and give the scribe credit. Make sure to leave enough empty space at the bottom right for the wallet-sized picture.

The picture is the easy part. If it's digital, use any basic photo program (like Coral or the HP programs) to make it black and white. Print it out or save it and print it at Wal-Mart.

Once you have your poem and your picture, your Valentine's Day craft is almost complete. Use the glue stick to attach the picture to the bottom right corner of the poem. Just center the poem onto the pink paper using the glue stick. Once you have that centered, center the pink paper to the frame. Don't close up shop without checking to see that everything is going to be centered. Use the glue stick sparingly to center the pink paper on the matting. Once you get it right, you're on your way to sensitive-soul heaven! This will be a Valentine's Day present for her to remember forever.