Valentine's Day Valentines

 Use "Typography" to let your loved ones know they're "Just Your Type".

Making Valentine's Day cards is one of my favorite things to do.  This is last year's card. (I haven't thought of this year's idea yet.)  I'm fascinated by typography, and I purchased a deck of cards that contained the background information on fonts (who created them , why they were created, when, where etc.) on one side of the card with an example of it on the other side.  I enjoyed reading about all the fonts, and I read through the deck several times, but at some point I wondered what I would do with them.  They were placed in the Goodwill donation box on more that one occasion, only to be plucked out at the last minute and placed back on the shelf in my studio.  The last time I retrieved them from thrift store doom, I placed them in a basket containing a bundle of pink envelopes.  Last year when I rustled through my card stock looking for inspiration for Valentine's Day cards, there they were.  The idea was born!

They've been the easiest of all my past cards to construct.  I had the red hearts printed at my local stationery store.  They are die-cut stickers.  I ended up sticking them on a stiff piece of mylar, used for overhead projector transparencies and sold at an office supply store, and trimmed closely around the edge with scissors so I could place them on the card with an adhesive foam dot.  I wanted the heart to lift off the card slightly.  They could have just as easily been stuck straight on the card.     

Next, I used a rubber stamp and Blazing Red, StazOn, solvent ink to place a verse on the other side of the card.  It's important to use solvent ink if you're using a plastic coated card.  Regular stamping ink won't dry properly and will smear.  Even after using the solvent ink, I left the cards spread out on my desk to dry overnight before I placed them in their envelopes to mail.  I colored the hearts in with a pink Sharpie permanent marker.

Things you'll need:

2" Red Heart Stickers with "You're just my type." printed on them.  You can buy these at any stationery store that specializes in custom invitations.

Adhesive Foam Dots

Overhead Transparency Film

Rubber Stamp with your choice of Valentine's Day Greeting

Pink or Red envelopes large enough to hold the card.

Blazing Red StazOn Ink

Pink Sharpie Marker

fabulous fonts - Deck of Knowledge Cards by Pomegranate Press (Expensive now because they are out of print, but still available on Amazon.)

or

The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog - Deck of Fonts (Also available through Amazon but much more reasonably priced.)