If you want to do something thoughtful and super easy for your Valentine, make this cute DIY card. This is a neat gift because it’s custom-made and you’ll have a lot of fun making it! Here’s how to make one:
EVERYTHING YOU NEED:
- Shrink Paper
- Sharpie/Permanent Markers
- Scissors
- Cardstock
- Glue
- Dimensional Magic (optional)
- Glitter (optional)
HOW TO MAKE IT:
GLITTER DIAMONDS
I used shrink paper to make the cute little glitter diamonds to stick to the card. It’s easy to work with and it’s a lot of fun to watch your designs shrink down to cute little charms. I also really enjoy coloring and making my diamonds look unique. If you like working with shrink paper too, or just want to see more — take a look at my DIY Tubmlr Pins post. I made the cutest designs out of shrink paper and turned them into flair pins for your lapel or backpack or where ever!
Trace the diamond shapes onto the shrink paper with a permanent marker. Your tracing doesn’t have to be perfect either. Since your designs will shrink down, you won’t even notice if the lines aren’t perfectly straight.
Cut out the diamond shapes with scissors. Because you are cutting into plastic, you want to be careful not to split the design in an area you don’t want. A tip I learned was to not close my scissors all the way down with each cut — instead, only bring the scissors together maybe 3/4 of the way. When the points of the scissors touch, it can cause the plastic to split in a way you weren’t intending.
Color in the diamonds. Keep in mind that the colors will become darker once you bake them in the oven. Use what ever permanent marker colors you like! I tried to do an ombre effect and keep each diamond looking unique. You can do whatever you want; get creative and have fun with it!
Bake the diamonds in the oven according to the directions on your shrink paper. It only took about 1.5 minutes for my shrink paper to flatten out in the oven.
Set aside to cool. They’ll probably be cool within a minute and then you can more them around.
OPTIONAL:
Add the Dimensional Magic to give the diamonds a shine and smooth surface. I used this in my DIY Lapel Pin post, and it really took the pins to the next level. It’s just a clear glaze that you can add to your item to make it look more enamel-like or like it has a clear bubble-like dome on top.
While the Dimensional Magic is still wet, lightly sprinkle on the glitter. You definitely don’t need much glitter if you do decide to use it. I went a little overboard with the glitter on a few of mine.
Set aside to fully dry. The Dimensional Magic can take a while to dry depending on how much you used. I did a slight dome on mine and there were ready in about 1 day.
VALENTINE’S DAY CARD
Fold a sheet of cardstock in half, and write “You are a diamond in the rough” in a script font. The cardstock will help support the weight of the diamond charms and make it look like a more professional card.
Glue on your diamonds to decorate.You can glue in as many as you want. I made two cards with mine and I thought they looked super cute.
Write a thoughtful message inside, and give to your Valentine to enjoy!
