This is the Valentine’s Day card my son and I put together for his class. It was straight from Pinterest inspiration, and so easy to do! I thought I’d share my little tutorial so you can make one, too, for your special Valentine!
I found good light in my studio, but you can use light from a window or open door as well. North light is the softest, you want to avoid glaring direct sunlight. A covered porch is also nice!. Have your child face the light source with his/her hand held out, as if holding something in it. You stand with your back to the light, your child in front of you facing you and the light. Turn off your flash and snap a great shot. You can use simple editing program to add words if you like, or you can simply write on the final print with a sharpie. Another option is to glue the print to a piece of construction paper or cardstock. Though I always promote paying a little more for great prints by a professional lab, in this instance, since I knew quality wasn’t as important, we simply used 4X6 drug store prints (shhhh you’ll never hear me suggest that ever again!). I also bought a $2 bag of gum, though you could use chewy candy or sticks of gum as well. We used two-sided stickies to stick the gum onto the print. You can also use double sided tape. For about $7 we got custom Valentine’s for his whole class, and a few outside-school pals as well!
Final card (I cheated again and took this with my iphone):
Original print
(also a good example of why I don’t recommend drug store prints for your framed portraits – note the difference between the original print below and the final print above)
ps – how adorable is my little Valentine! Also, we didn’t do this for his brother because they are required to make custom Valentine’s with no candy for their Kindie class. His turned out adorable and I love how much attention and focus he has put into creating personal cards for each friend. I may have to share a photo of him working on his custom designs as well, so cute!