Valentine's Day

This past Valentine's Day was pretty low key. We agreed not to get each other gifts and just go out to dinner together. But, just because we said we weren't going to get each other anything doesn't mean we didn't - we ended up surprising each other with small gifts. 

What Carson came home to.

What he brought home with him.

My gift to Carson was a little more than meets the eye...

It included a list of reasons I love him, some coupons, and a scratch off card for various small acts of service from me. 

I first saw the scratch-off card on Pinterest and followed the link to this site that had a downloadable card and the instructions. I didn't want to buy the contact paper these instructions required so I decided to use my Silhouette Cameo (I love this machine) to make the card my way. How? Let me show you - this is a really fun and easy idea for any occasion.

Download the card from the Better Homes and Gardens website and use photoshop or a word document program to get rid of the words on the top (or just make your own card). Print it out on card stock, cut it out, and then write different things in the hearts (I included one that said "sorry, you are not a winner" just for fun).

Once the card is filled out, cover the section with the hearts with a strip of clear packing tape (I have a picture of this but you can't even tell tape is on top, so I decided not to include it). Then mix approximately two parts silver metallic acrylic paint and one part dish soap. This is not an exact science - just get it to a consistency that works for you. I ended up adding a little more paint after I took this picture.

Paint your paint/soap mixture over the tape. Wait until the paint is completely dry and paint another layer if needed. It took me about three layers to cover the words completely. 

Use the print and cut feature of the Cameo to print the card out again (this time with the words included) and then cut it with holes where the hearts are. To do this with the Silhouette I just imported the card into Silhouette Studio and selected the hearts only in the cutting area. Basically it looked like this.

If you don't have a Cameo you can definitely still do this. You could cut the shapes by hand or use a hole punch. If you decided to make your own version of this project for a different holiday you could make a card with circular holes and cut them out with a circular hole punch super easy. So many possibilities!

Finally, I glued the card with the hearts cut out on top of the card with the paint. It worked perfectly - Carson picked one, scratched it off with a penny, and was able to see the words right where they were supposed to be. 

p.s. I cut the coupon tickets and the envelope with the Silhouette Cameo too. I am telling you, this machine is amazing. 

Anyway, it was a great, relaxing Valentine's Day. I love just getting to relax and spend time with my favorite boy (and any reason to make something crafty).