DYI Spiderman Valentine Cards

Look at me, on a roll… Another crafty post, already!

Today, the kiddo and I spent the chilly day indoors, making homemade Valentine's Day cards he will give out to his friends at preschool at their Valentine's Day party in a few weeks.

My four year old is obsessed with spiderman these days - well, actually, any superhero, but especially spiderman. And. Iron man… and Batman.. and Captain America... He is actually so obsessed with superheros that he has given everyone he loves their own superhero names… for example, Grampie is THE HULK, Gramma is Black Widow, Daddy is Superman… Mommy is Superstar (although, its weird, he can pronounce SuperMAN no problem, but Superstar, sounds eerily like "LiquorStore" - True Story.) The best is Great Grampie, who was so proud when he was dubbed 'Batman'… that was, until he realized he misheard and Evan actually said "Antman" - "ANTMAN?!" - Anyways! Circling back, I like to do some arts and crafts type things with Ev-man a few times during the week, so that I can feel better about the amount of time he spends watching TV the rest of the time. Usually our craft projects are pretty lame (see decorated "human dog house" below), but, they keep us busy for a few hours doing something fun and show as justification on how our day is spent to account for the unfolded laundry baskets everywhere. Circling back, again, and getting to the point this time: I saw Valentine's Day Cards as an opportunity to get our craft on and have something legit and truly purposeful to show for it. When I asked Evan what kind of Valentine's Day cards he wanted to give out to his friends at school, it was a big shocker (not) when he said "Spiderman".

By the way, basically every photo I ever post, is like a "Where's Waldo: Laundry Basket Edition" - I wish I was a keener, and prompty folded and put my laundry away… but I rarely do, instead we seem to live out of laundry baskets and I have a strong bond with my Tobi steamer. (Thanks MIL, Love!)

As mentioned in my last post, I was gifted a Cricut paper cutter for Xmas a few years back. When I first received it, I thought it was really cool, but didn't know what kinds of things I could use it for… Well, as a mommy with a flare for crafts and shortcuts, it's found itself it's very own designated seat at the family dinner table. It's glorious. Thanks MIL!! Love!

When I googled "spiderman Valentine's" - a bunch of store bought ones showed up, and well as some heart shaped spiderman decorated cookies - I thought that would be easy enough to copy, paper style… and thus my vision was born.

I used the cricut to cut 4 inch hearts on red, and white card stock paper (I chose this size so I could get 4 hearts per page to limit waste) and printed black hearts in 4.5 inch sizing - I could get 3 hearts cut out of a 8.5x11 sized sheet at this size. We made 25 cards total. I used the circuit Plantin SchoolBook cartridge for the hearts. On the red hearts, I drew a black outline, with a felt marker, and drew a web design on them. On the white, I used a Valentine's Day stamp. I would have let Evan do this part, but… it really needed even pressure to apply well… and being the control freak I am… I delegated that duty to myself.

Next came the hell of the eyes… 25 cards=50 eyes, each eye has two parts to make it=100 - Using the same cartridge, I used the round brackets for the eyes, then I just had to trim the corners, vs trace out and hand cut 100 eyes. For the whites of the eyes, I used 3/4" size, and for the blacks, 1". It was painful and time consuming. I placed a glue dot (I'm new to glue dots, they are actual thing, and, awesome) on each black eye and then secured the white on, before cutting out the blacks, for ease.

Once this stage was over, it was FINALLY time to involve Evan! Thank god! Watching me get everything ready all morning and into the afternoon was making him bat shit crazy (and annoying), especially since I did a completed card first thing in the am to show him what was in store for the day.

First, I had Evan stamp a spider onto each white heart - the stamp came from one of his marvel colouring kits - followed by a valentine stamp of his choice - on each of the white hearts… helped him write his name on each one… (I added the the To/From parts because his focus was dwindling at that point), then, had him put the eyes on the red hearts.

(Note: I place an old bedsheet on the floor to protect the hardwood from any mishaps.. I do this after encountering a mishap. And, by mishap, I mean "Superman" still complaining about the spot where the modge podge still hasn't worn off the floor from the Halloween Costume)

Next, we placed some foam double sided stickers on the back of the red hearts, to give the card a bit of a 3D feel, and then I had Evan stick them to a black heart. I REALLY had to resist doing it for him, or "helping" him by firmly holding his hand while I "guided" where two the two hearts make contact... because it was making me bat shit crazy to see him not stick them on perfectly after all my work. He actually did do a really good job for a 4 year old with (momy diagnosed) ADD though… Although, admittedly, I did make him fix a few that were just ridiculous.

Finally, I added some glue dots to the backside of the black heart, and had Evan put a white heart on… Same story re: me watching in horror as some of the white over hung past the black edge of the black "outline" heart.

Close up of the finished product:

(sidenote: My husband thought it was a little "crazy" that I had XOXOs and the signature sign listed as "Love: Evan" on the cards - He thought this should be reserved for family only and I was told that evidently I give out my love freer than him. Thoughts? Am I teaching my son to be a slut with his love?)