Have you seen those valentines where there is a picture of a child holding a lollipop? Well, this year, I decided to make some. Now before you go thinking supermom thoughts, you should know I first saw this TWO years ago. That’s right – it took me a whole two years to get around to doing it! And I pretty much only made myself do it this year, so I could share the idea with you guys.
Okay, let’s get to it.
What You’ll Need
- Camera
- Computer with software that will allow you to add text to a photo (I used Photoshop)
- box cutters
- cutting board
- lollipops
How to Make Photo Valentines
1. Snap a few pictures of your child. Ask them to do several poses with hands above their head or to their side. You want frame the picture in such a way that there’s enough space to hold a lollipop and add some text.
The original one I saw a while back had a boy in front of a brick wall who was punching forward with the lollipop in his hand. It was really cool, and I wish I knew the mom who did it so I could give a proper shout out. Whoever you are, you rock! Here is another shot I considered, but didn’t use.
2. Next, add a message.
3. Once your picture is ready, duplicate it and put several on the same page. I created a jpg that was 8.5 x 11 and put four valentine card images on it. I took the image on a flash drive to Staples. It was ($1.09/page) for heavy glossy paper. I left room around each picture, but it turns out that wasn’t really n necessary. Their printer would print all the way to the edge – live and learn.
4. Use scissors to cut the pictures apart.
5. Use box cutters to cut a small slit on either side of each hand that is going to hold the candy, so you can thread the stick of the lollipop through them!
I spent around $7 which is not much more than you would spend on store-bought valentines that you write the name on, but then again, it did take about an hour of my time. Hmmm, maybe I should have just gotten the regular ones and spent that hour working those cleaning tips I just learned. Well, there’s always tomorrow!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Friends!
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