My son Luke came home from school the other day, and the first thing he gloatingly said to me was, “Mom, I’ve got homework for YOU!” He hands me this big manilla envelope and then ran off to dig through the cupboard to put together his after school “feast” (yes, that’s what he calls it). I open up the envelope to find this….
In case you can’t read it, this is what it says…
Dear Parents,
Please use this construction paper heart to make a VALENTINE SURPRISE for your child. (Please do not show the contents of this envelope to your child before, during, or after you’re done.) Return sealed in this envelope.
Your assignment is to decorate the heart with a baby picture of your child along with words that describe your child. Be as creative as you like….stickers and extra decorations are welcome! Please DO Not put their name anywhere on the front of the heart. These hearts will be displayed on a bulletin board and the kids will try to guess each other.
Isn’t this a great idea? I was so excited when I first read it, and thought it was going to be a piece of cake. Then I actually started thinking about it, I came across two big problems. I might be artistic, but more in the mouse and monitor sort, not glitter and glue. And besides, I don’t have all that scrapbook-y stuff, and I mean none. Second….Luke is an 8 year old boy, so I had to ditch the traditional “valentine” visual that popped into my head. No pink hearts and paper doilies. I don’t want to embarrass the poor kid. So now what? Stumped. As far as I got with actually making something was cutting out a craft paper heart that I thought I could maybe use, and I did get the photo picked out (isn’t he a little flirt?).
After looking at that pathetic brown paper heart for awhile, I knew I couldn’t use it. I decided to break down and see if I couldn’t just come up with something on the computer even though my printer is currently only printing in black (because the cost of toner for my printer is almost a car payment…ack!) My wheels start turning, and about an hour later I’ve got this typography themed valentine….
I’m quite pleased with it. I hope he likes it, and I don’t embarrass him with all those hearts!
