Cut-Paper Valentines

I’ve always admired the Greek. Some years ago, I learned that the Greek language contains for words for love — agápe, éros, philía, and storgē — and each has a different meaning.

Agápe is a brotherly, charitable love — the kind we feel for our fellow human beings. Perhaps the most famous of the four, éros is romantic love you feel for a partner. For friendship, there’s philia, a platonic love. Lastly, storgē is an unconditional familial love you’d feel for parents, siblings and children.

Isn’t that awesome? Valentine’s Day should be about more than just romance. It should be about all four of these loves. When do we ever take time to celebrate our friends? Strangers on the street?

This year, I’m sending a few friends cut-paper valentines in the mail. I feel like I can never send enough snail mail, and I rarely make homemade cards. There’s no time like the present, right? // susannah

Click below to learn how to make these Cut Paper Valentines!

What you’ll need

Materials

• index card
• white cardstock, letter size
• colorful scraps of paper
• colored envelopes (Paper Source has great options)

Tools

• pencil
• eraser
• ruler
• bone folder
• X-Acto knife
• scissors
• glue stick

Instructions

1. Create a stencil. Fold the index in half, then draw half of a heart along the fold. Use scissors or X-acto knife to cut out the heart.
2. Prepare the cards. Fold white paper to fit your envelopes. Smooth the fold with the bone folder. (You may want to fold the paper in half or thirds depending on the dimensions of your envelopes.)
3. Draw the hearts. Position the stencil on the outside of your card. Gently draw a very faint line on one half of the heart. Use a ruler to help with spacing as you draw. You may be able to erase the lines before you cut.
4. Cut the hearts. Then, once all your marks are made, use the X-acto knife to cut the heart halves. Gently pop out the edge and fold open. Smooth the fold with the bone folder.
5. Fill in the hearts. On the inside of the card, use the glue stick to adhere the colored paper. When you flip the card over, you should see the colors pop out from the half-heart ‘windows.’ Let dry.
6. Cover the other side. Cut a piece of paper the same size as the front flap of the card. Use the glue stick to adhere it to the inside of that flap to cover the colored papers. Let dry.