diy valentine's day idea!

So as a newly married woman (since August), this will be mine & Jonathan's first Valentine's day living together & as a married couple. Therefore I really wanted to do something special for him. Something different. I've seen TONS of ideas on Pinterest, and I really wanted to try something better than the 14 days of treats, because my husband is not a big candy person. So small gifts such as sweets does not always work for him. So I stumbled across a post on someone's blog, I wish I had saved the link so I could share it, but I didn't, but the post showed you how to make your own scratch cards - so that's what I decided to do for my husband.
14 days of scratch cards!

What you'll need:
Any paint color
Dish soap
Index cards (I would recommend something stronger though such as card stock, but these work as well)
Paint brush
White crayon

How-to:
First I created my image on my computer using PhotoShop, but you don't have to do that. You can simply use marker, pen, or whatever you wish.
I tried to make each card different, so here's your opportunity to be creative as possible!

Here is an example of what my cards looked like after I printed them on my computer.
If you choose to do that then all you do is create the text & hearts however you wish on your computer, then print using the index card option, and it prints your image right on the card.
Then I hand wrote his prizes in the hearts such as:
Foot rub
Back rub
Dinner & movie
Pack of beer
Shoulder massage
Redbox movie
New shoes
Dinner
Etc.

Next:
Use a white crayon & color over whatever you want to be scratchable. I forgot this step a couple times & had to re-do some cards, so this step is very crucial for the scratch card to actually work.
Then, you want to mix equal amounts of paint & any kind of dish soap on a plate. I used Ajax & I used Acrylic paint from Wal-mart.
Then just mix your paint & soap together & paint over what you colored with the white crayon.
You'll more than likely have to do several coats. I believe if you were using a stronger form of paper like cardstock, you wouldn't have to do so many coats, but index cards were all I had, and they still work the same.
Let them dry completely & then you have your own home-made scratch card!
I can't wait for my husband to get home from work so I can give him his first card, he's going to love this idea!


















































Let me know if you decide to do the same for your man & how it works!
Also let me know if you have any questions at all :)