• Folded Heart DIY Valentine’s Day Card Tutorial

    Today, you’ll learn how to make a DIY Valentine’s Day card with an interactive twist! This project includes a folded heart that contains a hidden message. The recipient need but untie the string around the heart, and flatten the shape to reveal your note.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    In my opinion, the best kind of handmade card is one that surprises you! In today’s tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a DIY Valentine’s Day card that features a folded heart tied together with string. When the recipient unties the string, the heart folds out to reveal a message.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    The Inspiration for This DIY Valentine’s Day Card

    This DIY Valentine’s Day card idea was inspired by my immensely talented friend, Phyllis Macaluso. (If you don’t follow her on Instagram — @fpmmac — you are missing out; she is so creative!) I received a beautiful handmade card from her featuring a heart similar to the one that I am showing you how to make today. Here is what Phyllis’ card looks like:

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    When you undo the string, this is what the inside reveals:

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Fantastic, right? I was inspired to make my own rendition, which I’ll show you how to make below:

    1. Make a Hearts Template

    First, start with a 3″ x 3″ (76 mm x 76 mm) square of printer or scrap paper.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Fold that piece of paper in half, then draw half of a heart on one side of the paper using any writing utensil.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Hold both sides of the folded paper together, and cut the pieces along the line you drew, as shown below.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Unfold your cut paper, and you’ve got a heart!

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Next, take any piece of scrap paper or card stock and use your heart cutout to trace four hearts onto it. Make sure all of the hearts’ tips touch in the center, as shown in the photo below. It’s okay if their sides overlap a bit, too.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    The result will resemble a four-leaf clover.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now, cut out your four-leaf clover shape, and you now have a folded heart template!

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    2. Use Your Template on Decorative Paper

    Now, designate a piece of paper that you’d like to fold into a heart. I have chosen to use some printed scrapbook paper that I purchased at an arts and crafts shop.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Turn the paper around. Then, use a pencil to trace around the heart template.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Cut the paper along the pencil lines. Doing so will leave you with a shape that looks like the one below:

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    3. Make Folds

    Now, you want to work on getting your hearts to neatly fold into one heart. To do that, fold everything over in half to the left.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Then, unfold the hearts and fold them up the opposite way.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    If you unfold your hearts now, you’ll see two creases: one vertical and one horizontal.

    Smooth out the paper, flip it over, and fold it through the middle of two hearts, as shown below:

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    You should now be able to fold the heart in, like so:

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    4. Add a String

    Once your heart is folded, use tape to affix a ~ 10″ (25.4 cm) piece of string or twine to it.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    Don’t worry: this side of the heart will be glued to your card, so people won’t see it!

    Now, let your heart hang tight while you make a base for it.

    5. Make a Card Base

    Place the lone folded heart you made earlier on a 5″ x 7″ (12.7 cm x 17.78 cm) piece of watercolor paper. Then, trace around it in pencil. The heart should be oriented at an angle on the left side of the paper, as shown in the photos below.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now, write a message to the right of the heart. I have chosen to write “You are Wonderful” in Amy Style calligraphy. (“Happy Valentine’s Day” would make for an excellent greeting, too!) Be sure to use a waterproof ink such as Ziller Soot Black. We’ll expose this calligraphy to watercolor here in a bit, and you want to make sure it won’t smudge or run!

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    I chose to use a Brause EF66 nib in a Tachikawa T40 pen to write this calligraphy.

    After you write the calligraphy, freehand draw a parallel line around the heart in pencil.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Go ahead and trace over that parallel line in black ink. The resulting black heart outline will help your folded heart to stand out more.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    6. Add Watercolor Spatters

    Next, get out your favorite watercolor palette — I have chosen the Finetec Pearl Colors palette — and moisten the colors you would like to use on the card. Pre-moistening your watercolors like this will ensure that they are nice and easy to use.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now, use the blowing technique as outlined in the Artistic Ornaments-Themed DIY Christmas Card Tutorial. You’ll start by painting a blob of watercolor inside the heart …

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    … Then blow on it to make the paint run!

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Continue blobbing paint around the inside of the heart and blowing it out, then use your paintbrush to flick colors all over your paper.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock
    You can learn how to make paint and ink spatters in this tutorial.

    7. Assemble the Card

    While you’re waiting for your paint to dry, unfold your heart and write a note in it.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Use double-stick tape or glue to affix the back side of the folded heart — the side with string taped to it — to the paper. The heart should be placed exactly where you drew the pencil guideline.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Fold in the heart, then tie your string into a bow to secure the fold.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    And … voilà! A simple and interactive handmade card that is sure to delight.

    Folded Heart Handmade Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Though I have shown you how to create this DIY Valentine’s Day card using printed scrapbook paper and a watercolor paper backing, you can modify the concept however you’d like. Go wild using different papers and materials — no matter what, your piece will end up looking fantastic. It’s a quick, fun project that you will enjoy making and your recipient will be happy to receive!

    If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to ask! I’m happy to answer. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading TPK, and enjoy the rest of your day!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    This article was first posted in February of 2016. It has been updated with clearer instructions.