Making Valentine’s Day cards with recycled materials

Easy-to-make cards using recycled materials

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Are you looking to create easy do-it-yourself Valentine’s Day cards with your children, using recycled materials? Boston.com Moms asked the experts at ArtBeat in Arlington last year for some advice. We learned how to raid the recycling bin for card-making materials, how to make 3-D cards that “pop’’ with those materials, and how to turn your child’s old artwork into cards for loved ones this holiday.

Oh, and we’ve got some crafting tips to share with you too!

Tips from the experts

The folks at ArtBeat are experts at crafting. Owner Jan Whitted, who is also the mother of two and grandmother of three children age 13, 10, and 6, has been helping New Englanders create art since she opened her store’s doors in 1996. Kids there use many different materials — paints, papers and glues, glass and ceramic tiles, colored sand and more — to create art inside the store’s art studio.

But today Boston.com Moms is bringing the studio to you!

What you will need

No need for fancy materials. All the materials you need to make a great Valentine’s Day card are already in your home, said Whitted. So grab your scissors, gather up scraps of paper, and raid your recycling bin for cardboard product boxes with fun pictures and sayings. Grab some old magazines and catalogues too. Oh, and don’t forget to dig up your child’s old artwork!

“I love repurposing everything,’’ said Whitted.

Turn old artwork into cards

You know all those pictures your children have colored and stamped and painted? Use them.

“We all have so much that is lying in a bin,’’ said Whitted. “And we want to preserve it. What better way to preserve it than in a Valentine?’’

Here, Whitted drew a heart over some marker dots, cut it out, and glued the heart to a piece of paper. Voila!

“Hand-drawn ones are not perfect, but that’s fine,’’ said Whitted about her freehand heart.

Tip: To center your heart on the paper, place it in the middle of the paper and fold it in half right along with the paper. Then glue one side of the heart to secure its place before gluing the other side.

Raid your recycling bin

Sit with your child and have a cutting session. Use anything and everything. Here, Whitted cuts out a photo of crackers from a cracker box she found in her bin. How can crackers be used in a Valentine’s Day card, you ask? More on that later!

“You are looking for pictures that are fun and you’re also looking for words,’’ said Whitted.

Tip: There are no rules.

“Don’t think about it too much and don’t judge,’’ said Whitted. “Just use whatever appeals to your child. Cut it out.’’

Make a plan

Place all of your cutouts on the table so you can see what’s available and start formulating ideas for your cards, said Whitted. The photos do not have to be comprised of hearts and flowers. Your child loves dinosaurs? Cut them out. Your child sees a pretty flower? Cut it out. Use anything that tickles your child’s fancy.

Playing with words

Create a different look when cutting out words by following the shape of the word with the scissors. This is a good technique for older children to use, Witted said.

See the difference: The word “multi’’ (pictured) is cut in a straight line, while the word “love’’ (pictured) is cut using the technique of following the shape of the word.

Creating a collage

Layer papers and cutouts from magazines, catalogues, and cardboard products from your recycling bin. Play around with their placement before gluing them down. Add words and hand-written elements as finishing touches. You can also add stickers and doilies if you have them.

Gluing tip: Always have a scrap piece of paper under where you are gluing to protect your table. Then just fold the scrap paper over before placing the next piece of art down for a new nonsticky surface to work on.

Delight your child with a rebus

Back to the crackers.

Teach your kids what a rebus is (a word or phrase represented by a picture) and have fun playing around with language on your Valentine’s Day card. Whitted used her crackers photo to make a Valentine’s Day card that says, “Valentine, I am crackers over you!’’

“Those are fun language-building skills,’’ said Whitted about rebuses. “And they are also very funny sometimes.’’

Make them laugh

Another idea for a rebus: “I fish you were my Valentine!’’

Go 3-D

To make a 3-D Valentine’s Day card, just fold a piece of paper and cut two side-by-side slits. Pop the little tab you created forward and fold the card down over it. You have now created a little area that, as Whitted says, “pops.’’ Glue words or pictures to the tab so they jump off the card. Then decorate around the 3-D area, like Whitted did with the hearts she cut out of old artwork and pasted along the top.

Finishing touches

Cover up your cut marks on the back of your 3-D card by fitting another piece of paper around it, folding it, and then gluing it.

Happy Valentine’s Day!