DIY scratch-off valentines!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ah, I had so much fun making these little modified scratch-off Valentines with our little guy this past weekend, and wanted to share! As you know, Valentine's Day is quite the occasion when you're in Kindergarten. We made a special trip to Target to choose out goodies for the bags (which I had on hand for a rainy day), and designed the cards together on my computer. Here's my confession, to all you mommas: I had him hand-write his message on a single sheet of paper, and then snapped a shot with my iPhone so we could print it on the cards. Honestly, we've lived and learned. Little hands get tired. Next year may be different, but in this case I was able to take his handwriting, drop it in the file, and print out 25 copies of his little note. This freed us up to sticker them, stuff each of the bags, and tape them shut with some cute washi tape.

All of our paper goods in the Inklings shop are professionally printed, but it was fun to whip these up and get the instant gratification of printing them in the studio. Of course, we ran out of ink and I had to remind myself that 6-year-olds are more concerned with the candy than the banding. 

Wishing you all a sweet Valentine's Day this week with the ones you love!

Valentine's Day for the uninspired

 

 

Looking for something different this Valentine's Day?
Spice things up with Scratch-off Love Notes!

 

If you're familiar with our Lunchbox Notes, these work the same way. Simply write your own message in the box, and cover it with a sticker. This cute little bag includes 20 fun-sized notes (2" x 3.5") for you to enjoy together.

Here are five fun ideas to try this Valentine's Day:

LOVE COUPONS  |  Write "IOU's" or coupons on each one, filled with "gifts" or acts of service that can be redeemed in the coming year.

HIDDEN SURPRISES  |  Write a secret note and hide it in a work bag, coat pocket, the car, a laptop, or somewhere else where it will be discovered.

SPICE IT UP  |  While you're out to dinner together, split the deck of blank cards in half. Each of you will have TEN cards. On each card, write a fun or spicy thing you'd like to try (and yes, writing "Extra Hot Thai Peanut Curry" is completely acceptable), and cover your writing with a sticker. Shuffle the cards, and place them back in the bag. Pull cards from the bag when you'd like to spice things up!

DATES FOR A YEAR  |  Take turns writing down 20 different date ideas that you'd like to do in the year to come. Every few weeks, pull a card out of the bag and scratch it together to see what your next date will be!

POP THE QUESTION  |  Surprise your loved one with a proposal. Maybe you've been married for twenty-two years. So surprise her with a different type of proposal... a weekend getaway someplace you've never been. A honeymoon you never had. A thumbs up to start trying for that baby. Whatever you'd like to propose, a scratch-off is such a fun way to do it!

What are your ideas on how these could be used? I'd love to hear them!

xo

 

things i love about you

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, which got me thinking about making something lovey dovey. And what's better than a little tin full of sweet somethings for that special person in your life?

Our "Things I Love About You" tin makes it super easy to tell your sweetie (or your kids) all the little things you love about them. 12 little cards are printed on a premium card stock with a rich berry-red chevron pattern on the back. They rest on top of a bed of kraft-colored crinkle-cut paper, and come packaged in their own little tin which is wrapped in a sweet hand-stamped natural muslin drawstring bag. Choose from one of eight cute phrases! (scroll down to see them all)

For those of you who have more than enough to write about, these re-fill cards are for you. The tin can fit as many as 85 cards... happy writing!

For our faithful blog readers, please feel free to use the coupon code "BEMINE10" for 10% off your tin. The countdown to Valentine's Day has begun... we recommend upgrading to Priority Shipping to guarantee that they get to you in time.

Enjoy!

P.S. Which bag is your favorite?