DIY Valentines

I love a drug store deal just as much as the next coupon lovin' gal.  Where else can you buy everything from toothpaste, medicines, oatmeal and beer. Kid's Valentines are galore at every drug store you go to, your choice of Toy Story 3, Princesses, Spiderman, whatever your kid's heart desires.  I've never been a big fan of the pre-packaged $2.99 boxed Valentine's, we have always gone more of the DIY route.
Last year we did Jonas Brothers Rock Star bookmarks that I created in Photoshop with design instructions from my then 6 year old:

To say they were a hit is an understatement, everyone loved 'em.  She handed out 50 in about 4 seconds flat.  Both of my kids wanted to go the bookmark route again, our oldest is a big Taylor Swift fan so she wanted a Taylor themed one.  Our youngest, very spirited child wanted Barbie, below is the picture she initially chose:

Yep, that is redneck Barbie.  As much as I didn't want to squash my wee ones creative juices I also didn't want 16 calls from the parents of her classmates.  So we went with a more suitable Barbie.  I love the idea of a bookmark too, it is something that won't be immediately trashed and the kids actually use them.

If you aren't a photoshop pro (neither am I) you can do a DIY version.  Get a pack of your kids favorite character stickers or the foam letters from the craft section. Even just some stencils, markers, glitter and a couple of hours and your kid could make them.  Here is a template for a blank bookmark, you can also google character or Valentine one's.  If you have as many snow days as our kids you would have tim to make for everyone in your state.  Maybe if we send Mother Nature she'll lighten up on all the white stuff we have been dealing with lately.


I may send out Valentines with the Barbie picture our 4 y.o. originally chose to family and friends who "get" her different personality...if so I'm thinking about this wording:
This Bud's for You, Valentine.

P.S. If you are dying for the more professional looking photoshop ones, I'm happy to design whatever your kiddos desire for $10.  You can get cardstock and print them at home like we did last year.