Handmade, From the Heart

Valentine's Day ain't what it used to be, which can be a good thing, given the "No Child Left Sans Valentine" requirements at many schools. But it also seems that valentines sold in stores have become tiny tokens for hawking movie and television characters.

I'm no purist, and I'll admit I've fallen for a pack of postage-stamp-sized Wiggles valentines from time to time. But I've also purchased colorful cardstock and some rubber stamps and let the kids make their own valentines. It costs a little more money, it's messy and the stamps are rarely perfectly aligned, but they're always worth the effort.

I like The Paper Source (www.paper-source.com) for its variety of colorful papers and rubber stamps, in addition to a ton of fun accessories for embellishing valentines. Paper and More (www.paperandmore.com) sells textured papers and envelopes at discount prices, and even offers sample packs so you can pick and choose your paper without spending a fortune. I also like to search for stickers and fun little decorations on sale after any holiday, and hearts are a common theme.

When Jackson was in preschool, I found a cute rubber stamp of an owl to supplement his obsession with the nocturnal wise ones. When I asked him what he wanted to use to make his own valentines, he chose that owl stamp. He was also adamant that there be nothing pink on his valentines, so I bought white cardstock flecked with colorful spots and a teal ink pad at our local scrapbook store.

I cut each piece of cardstock into four cards and wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" at the top of each one. Then I let him stamp as crooked as he pleased; some cards had three owls, some had the top half in one corner and the bottom in another.

"It's art, Mom," he said. After autographing each card -- a great point of pride for preschoolers -- the cards were ready for delivery.

We've since had a few years' worth of train valentines and even dabbled with hearts and red ink (though never pink!). The differences don't really matter -- they're made by hand and given from the heart.