From Sherri Osborn,
Your Guide to Family Crafts.
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This year, give your Valentine a special, home-made card. You can get spectacular results using easy techniques.

The easiest way to make a Valentine's Day or any card is to fold a sheet of paper in half and decorate it. Sound boring? Well, it doesn't have to be. There are several fun options for decorating cards:

1. One of the simplest ways is to cut a variety of heart shapes out of paper and glue them to the front of the card. Make different designs, animals, people, etc.

2. Take the heart idea one step further! Instead of cutting heart shapes out of paper, cut them out of fabric, wallpaper samples, tissue paper, wrapping paper, or anything else you can think of. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

3. Recycle last year's cards! Cut around the shape on the card. Glue it to a piece of construction paper, and trim around the picture leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

4. Use collage techniques. Cut pictures out of magazines and glue them to your card. Try to find a collection of pictures that will tell a story! Cut words out of magazines to use - great for a secret admirer!

5. Use stamping/printing techniques. You can get a wide variety of rubber stamps on the market today, along with custom ink pads. You can also make your own stamps by cutting a heart design out of a potato, apple, sponge, cookie cutter, or even a piece of styrofoam.

6. Cut small squares and/or triangles out of different colored paper, wallpaper samples, fabric, etc. Glue them onto the front of your card to form a mosaic/quilt like picture.

7. Use stencils, either store-bought or home-made, to make nice pictures on the from of the card.

8. Use clip art to make Valentine's Day cards! There are many fun sites that offer free clip art for personal use. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

9. Use a coloring book page on the front of your card! You can cut one put of a coloring book you have, or choose from several online coloring pages to print. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

10. Paint a design on your card! Use fingerpaint to make a personalized design. You can also use tempera or acrylic paint. While the paint is still wait, you might want to sprinkle a little bit of glitter on your card to add a special finishing touch.

Use your imagination to create fancy St. Valentine's Day cards for everyone you know. If you want something a little fancier, check out the cards featured on page 2 of this article .