Valentines for Friends

I recently came across a great idea for Valentine's Day cards. I'm not really a big fan of buying cartoon character cards with corny sayings, but it's just what you do at Valentine's Day, so I suck it up and buy them.

Well, this year, I came across a wonderful idea on a blog I stalk for handmade valentines. That, alone, is not the wonderful idea. The great idea is that you let the recipient color the valentine themselves. It's not too time-consuming for me to make them and it's a fun, different kind of valentine for the kids to receive.

Here's Fran's valentine. It is so, so adorable! Simple, yet perfect. The boys will love choosing images and stamping them and then I'll cut them out and matte them. Perfect!

I just recently invested in a Just-Rite Stamper set and the small alphabet that goes with it. I figured I would put the saying that you usually see inside the valentine on the Just-Rite stamp and then put them on lollipops or something. I was so excited that I stamped out 20 or so of them for my oldest's class and matted one with a nestability scallop circle to show off to my mom and sisters (we all went to a Mary Kay party this afternoon).


Aren't they so neat?

Imagine my surprise when my first sister that I showed it to took one look at my handiwork and laughed out loud! The nerve. The first words out of her mouth were "Venereal Disease?!"

What?! No, VD. Valentine's Day.

I just shook my head at my poor sister. She, of course, couldn't believe that I didn't realize it looked like that.

So, I showed it to my other sister and my mom. And they both laughed, too. Without hesitation. Without reading all the words I had painstakenly spelled out, letter by letter.

I consoled myself with the reminder that it was my family. Maybe my whole family (except for me, of course) were all just a little weird. So, I showed it to the parents of the friends my boys had invited over for today's birthday party.

I got raised eyebrows, embarrassed grins and a few gasps. Oops.

So, needless to say, I will be remaking the lollipop covers for my son's class, seeing as how I really don't want the parents of his classmates wondering what kind of child he is and whether or not they should be concerned.

Here are a few options for the remakes.


I'm thinking the lips are too girly for a boy to give away (although I do think they're so cute), so I will probably go with the hearts, unless inspiration strikes and I get another great idea... Something better than the first, I hope...

So, tell me. What was your first thought when you saw the valentines?