Traffic to my crochet and craft blog Stickytapeandstring goes mad in January and February. One or two of my crochet designs are based on hearts. I created a couple of very simple crochet heart patterns which have been very popular! You can use these patterns to make very easy handmade valentines cards.
There are some lovely cards on Etsy that use crochet hearts in the design. I am not artistic enough to attempt some of these. However, a simple card blank with I Love You and a little crochet heart, is within my ability! I think these look very simple and effective
Easy Handmade Valentines Cards – Materials
The first thing you need is the base for the card. You have options for this. You can buy premade card blanks. Your local craft shop will sell these and you can also get them on Amazon. Expect to pay less than £10 for 25 to 50 cards with envelopes. Watch out for the quality of the card. Card quality is given in a measure called GSM or Grams per Square Metre. This is essentially the weight of the paper or card. You know when you buy cheaper Christmas Cards and they are a bit flimsy? They will have a lower GSM than the more lux cards.
As a rough guide the absolute minimum weight you can go with for handmade cards is around 220 GSM. A good weight to go for is 280 GSM. Beyond that and up to 350 GSM will give you an even stronger base and more luxurious feel.
Consider the shape and size of card that suits your design. Bear in mind any postal restrictions/costs if you are going to use a non-standard shape. In the UK larger cards or ones of unusual dimensions (large and square is an issue!) attract an increased postal charge. It takes the edge off the pleasure of receiving a lovely handmade card if you have to go to the post office to collect it and pay excess postage!
Another option for the card blanks is to salvage and recycle. Take a piece of card of a suitable weight from packaging. We always seem to be drowning in cardboard here (thank you Amazon and teenagers!). If you do not have any that is blank/clean of printing, you can cover it in printer paper. Cards do not have to be the traditional folded rectangle or square. Remember though that is it likely the recipient will want to display the card to enjoy it. Add a support or provide a means to stand the card up as part of your design.
Decorating your Card
Next you need to consider the lettering or your design. There are lots of free resources on Pinterest to help you pick your font or lettering. I have a Pinterest board on fonts which you can see here. To achieve a strong clean look you can work in pencil first then ink over. As a rule I would recommend keeping it simple. It looks better to have a clean, well executed simple design than something complicated that isn’t as tidy.
Consider how the lettering will work in the overall design. What tone are you aiming for? Is your card going to be sharp and modern or are you looking for a rustic feel? If you are using recycled material then the feel might be shabby chic and upcycled. Pick a font that matches the spirit of your design.
Add the hearts to your Easy Handmade Valentines Card
When it comes to adding the hearts you could make your own. The little hearts made using my free patterns take less than five minutes to make. You can find the patters here Hearts in three sizes.
I make these hearts in cotton DK. The pattern for the smallest size gives you a heart about 3cm across.
If you are looking for a larger version I put out another free pattern earlier this year – new large hearts. This one is about 10cm across when worked in chunky yarn!
If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy the hearts premade on Etsy. I sometimes sell some myself in my own Etsy shop which you can find here. If I don’t have any in stock or if you would like to shop around, simply put crochet heart into the search box on Etsy.
If you want to keep your card recycled and environmentally friendly you can buy organic sustainable cotton or use recycled yarn. I have series of posts on yarn recycling on Stickytapeandstring which you can read here – yarn recycling.
My Etsy listings also include hearts made in sustainable organic cotton from time to time, when I get chance to make them! If there are none available and you would like to buy some made please comment below or email me and I will do my best to meet your requirements.
Consider the colour of your heart again within the overall design. Bright red will look both traditional and modern. Dusky pink might go better with a rustic or shabby chic feel. Blue is certainly the colour in the UK in 2021 out of respect and love for the our National Health Service.
To attach your heart to the card you could either use a strong craft glue or you could consider stitching the heart to the card. If you stitch the heart to the card use a sharp needle and strong thread. Push the needle into the card vertically working front to back then back to front in separate movements so as not to bend the card. TIP keep your stitches a reasonable distance apart or the card will weaken and could tear. If you stitch the card you might want to consider an insert to carry your message inside the card and hide the back of the stitches.
I hope you like these easy handmade valentines card and have fun designing and making your own cards. I love to receive hand made cards and used to spend time making them with my children when they were small. Lovely memories!
Annie 🙂