Library Card Valentine

Valentine's Day was approaching fast….technically it is here!  But I felt the pressure yesterday and I decided I better get going on this lovey dovey thing.  So I did what I do best and whipped up a DIY card…for free!  It took less than an hour so definitely something you can do in a pinch if you find yourself running out of time.  I was inspired by this picture from Pintrest to commemorate this Valentine's Day. 

BUT I wanted the look to be a little more vintage and a little less delicate.  I used this vintage library card as an inspiration template!    

After an hour or so and some test prints I created my spin on the DIY Valentine’s Day card. In the date column I put all the important dates in our relationship and described them on the right.  I thought this would be a good way to commemorate our almost seven years together!     

First I tested the colors and did some print pages.  The colors you see on my computer screen sometimes come out differently than when I print.  The first time around the blue looked black and the red looked a little orangey and a little pink.  Not good, but after a couple of prints I had the colors that I was happy with.       

When I cut my card out I shaved a little off the lines on each side, but left some space at the top.  I rounded the corners of the card to make it look a little more authentic.        

        

To get the stamped date look I used the font another typewriter and angled the text.  This creates the haphazard stamped look you get on a normal library card.  I also varied the shades of blue to create some diversity.  Different fonts that had the handwritten look were used to describe the dates.  The author of the “book” is our names and the “title” is Happily Ever After.  Awwww…..please try to hold it together and not barf at the ohheey gooey that I just put out there for you.  If you have to barf I understand.

I then used an old manila envelope to create the “card holder”.  I simply cut it out like this, folded the flaps in so they were flush with the rest of the card, and taped the flaps onto the main part of the card.            

Hopefully the hubby will enjoy receiving this card as much as I enjoyed making it!  What drew me to this design was the vintage feel and a different twist on the traditional valentine’s day card. 

Also the fact that it is handmade and totally budget friendly (a.k.a. free) doesn’t hurt either!