Homemade Valentine's Day Cards - The Art of Cottagemaking

Gather round to learn the art of making homemade Valentine’s Day cards. Using just a few supplies, you can make gorgeous handmade cards for all your friends and family (or just that special someone!) in no time. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you won’t want to miss out on this darling craft activity.

Homemade Valentine's Day cards are lined up in a row with gold leaves, faux flowers, and ribbon.

Some would argue that Valentine’s Day is the worst time of year. People tend to either love it or hate it. I have never really been on one extreme end or the other, but I will say that most holidays are more fun when you like to craft!

I don’t mind Valentine’s Day, plus I happen to love making things by hand. It is just another excuse for me to craft. I am a maker by nature and the more handmade items I can make, the happier I am.

You could say I have an old soul that appreciates the hand-crafted things in life. I value time, effort, and thought put into gifts and cards. When I receive a gift, I don’t care about the cost or how big/grand something is. I just appreciate it for the intention behind it. I’m a sucker for the simple things in life…

With that being said, I enjoy both receiving and giving handmade goods. In fact, I went all out decorating our Christmas cards last year (you can read all about that HERE) and thought it would be fun to make some homemade Valentine’s Day cards when the holiday rolled around.

After making these I am pretty excited to give them out. I decided on making a few simple ones for the kids in our family, our nieces and nephews, and then made an extra special one for my husband.

Homemade Valentine's Day cards are scattered on a countertop with faux flowers and golden leaves.

Homemade Valentine's Day cards are lined up in a row on a marble countertop.

I love that they’re frilly and fancy and the cutest little cards to represent the holiday of love. They were pretty easy to make, too, so I really can’t complain.

I’ve been practicing hand lettering for months now and there’s nothing like the experience you get from real, hands-on projects like this. I was able to practice a new skill, have some creative fun on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, and do it all without spending a dime. I had all the materials already, so I didn’t even have to make a quick run to the craft store. These are always my favorite kinds of projects. I just used up remnants of pieces from previous projects to make something new and wonderful.

Without further ado, let’s make some homemade Valentine’s Day cards…

Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards

Why make homemade Valentine’s Day cards?

There is nothing like receiving a handmade item, whether a gift or card on a holiday. (Yes, even little old, over-the-top, cheesy Valentine’s Day.) You can make these for your kids, they can make them for you, family, and friends–or you can put all your energy into making one really beautiful one for your partner.

Regardless of who receives it, just know that handmade cards are adored. So much thought, time, and energy go into making cards. With a few pointers I’ll share with you, they’ll come out looking lovely as ever every time.

The best part? Each one is personalized just for the person receiving it. How fabulous is that?

Valentine's cards are handmade and placed on a countertop to show the front covers.

Do I have to have special art skills for this craft activity?

You can make these cards as simple or as intricate as you want. It is because of this that I will say that you don’t need to be particularly artistically inclined to make these. If you don’t consider yourself a creative person or you’re a complete beginner, no worries.

If you’ve never hand lettered in your life or don’t draw often, you probably won’t come up with super-detailed masterpieces. Make them anyway.

Even if they don’t turn out “perfect” that doesn’t mean homemade Valentine’s Day cards aren’t worth making… Your cards, no matter the result, still hold real value. People love handmade cards. You’ll both build on your creative skills/knowledge and you might just brighten someone’s day.

A striped ribbon is strewn across a small stack of handmade cards.

Supplies/Materials

Construction paper or plain cards

Paper doilies in a variety of sizes/patterns

Scissors

Glue or tape

Colored pencils, pens, or markers

Glitter or sequins, optional

Fabric pieces, optional

Dried flowers, optional

Ink stamps and pads or stickers, optional (I use these ink stamps HERE for holiday cards)

Card supplies are strewn about a countertop.

How to Make Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards

Choose your color and design

Select your base paper for the card. I happened to have a few blank cards laying around that were sent to me from a charity so I just repurposed them.

I also like to use a white, pink, or red construction paper since those are the traditional colors for Valentine’s Day. Feel free to use whatever colors you feel called to. Also think about the overall design you want to create. If you’re using construction paper, you’ll then want to fold the paper in half, hamburger style.

Card supplies are laying across a countertop and include a stamp, cards, doilies, and more.

Add a message

If you don’t feel comfortable handwriting a message, the computer is your friend. Type your message out, print, trim around the edges, and attach it to the inside or outside of the card. If you’re adding lots of embellishments, you may opt to wait to attach the text over these later on, though.

I recommend keeping the front cover message simple with a “Happy Valentine’s Day” or “Be My Love.” On the inside, I like to write out a more personalized, detailed note to the receiver. Write from the heart, keeping it romantic or light-hearted, whichever you are most comfortable with. (For the kids, I will write something shorter and more humorous.)

Attach doilies to the outside

Select one large or several small doilies and begin gluing/taping them to the card. (If you use tape, be sure to disguise it well under larger sections of the doily.) Create a design of your choice being sure to work around any text you’ve added to the card. This may require trimming the doily in order to make it work.

Be sure the doily is on the outside since this will be the outer front cover and back of the card.

Doilies have been added to the outside of cards.

Decorate with color, fabrics, or sparkles

As you open the card, think about what you can add around the message you’ve written out or what can be added to the blank side of the card. You can trim, arrange, and glue pieces of fabrics with prints or patterns on them to the card. Maybe you love to draw and want to sketch some hearts or something else that’s cute. You may even choose to add sequins and sparkles using glue. Do whatever feels right for you. If fancy is your thing, add more. If simple feels right, make a big impact using less.

Flowers have been added to the front of a card.

Add any finishing touches

When I’m nearly finished, I like to double check that I’ve signed the card. I may add an ink stamp like this one HERE that came with several holiday ink stamps perfect for card making.

Finally, don’t forget to hand deliver your cards. These aren’t like Christmas cards that you have to send out to your entire family through the postal service. Save these for just those who you are closest to so you can personally hand deliver them. You can even add in a homemade cookie or brownie for an added special touch. I have a rich, tasty Valentine’s brownie recipe HERE that they’ll love.

Final thoughts | homemade Valentine’s Day cards

The beauty of these cards are that they can be fun cards you throw together in a matter of minutes with the little ones. They can be covered in exorbitant stamps and stickers and given to someone with a very handmade, rustic look. Or you can make them more stylish and polished if you have more seasoned art skills, more time on your hands, and the patience to hand letter cute messages or sketch little drawings. These homemade Valentine’s Day cards are really what you make of them. Just be sure you have fun in the process.