By Jane Carter
If budget is an issue this Valentine''s Day, a homemade valentine may be the answer to your problems. It''s personal, easy, and best of all, inexpensive.
If it is your first foray into the area of construction paper hearts and doilies, here is a quick and simple guide to the valentine that will capture your loved one''s heart.
Begin with the heart. A heart is the key component to any valentine. Begin with a piece of paper, folded in half. Beginning on the fold, cut the curve of half a heart. The cut should end on the fold. Otherwise, your valentine will be made from two halves of a heart. This is a bad sign for the future of your relationship.
When really desperate (you forgot the holiday), grab a sheet of notebook paper and rip out your heart (not literally, please). Construction paper in pink, red or white is traditional material for a homemade heart, but if these materials are beyond your budget, decorate a paper bag or white paper with crayons. If construction paper is too cheap, vellum, wrapping paper and foil are more impressive alternatives.
Personalize the message. Although 'Be my valentine' and 'Roses are red, violets are blue...' have withstood the test of time, moving beyond elementary school is a good idea. Creativity is key, but if you can''t think of anything, try borrowing from a great love poem. Byron and Shakespearean sonnets can be very effective.
Warning: Don''t plagiarize that poem. If she (or he) thinks you spent hours slaving over every word, she doesn''t want to read your expression of love as a homework assignment in English. Give credit to the real author, and you will earn sensitivity points for reading poetry.
The fluff. Now that you have a heart and a voice, you need to give the valentine soul. Dress it up with lace, doilies, pictures or combine hearts to give it personality. One easy method is to cut pictures of flowers out of a gardening catalog. This has the added advantage of being a two-in-one gift, taking care of the roses and the card. If you have a creativity mental block, put a heart on top of a doily, or glue three hearts together.
If you are a creative dater who just can''t be ordinary, use your imagination to create an interactive valentine. Example: Sandwich two hearts together with a bunch of string in the middle. The string should stick out about 1/4 inch on either side. Attach tabs to the string that say 'pull.' For the message on the center of the heart, write, 'I Love you THIS Much.'
It''s the thought that counts, so the real key to this valentine is that it is homemade. Regardless of style or amount of glue used, the time wasted making the heart is what will truly impress your love.