While you have out your heart punches for Valentine's Day, why not re-purpose some old magazines into some lovely themed cards. Follow along while I show you a couple of examples, but I'm sure you can come up with some fantastic ideas of your own.

Step 1: Punch

Use a tiny heart-shaped paper punch to punch a bunch of hearts in various colors from a recycled magazine. I purposely searched for solid colors for this project, but I also think it could be very attractive done with punched newsprint or mixed color patterns.

Step 2: Glue Hearts

Using a glue stick, glue the hearts in pairs in a random order onto a piece of card stock, aligning the tips together.

Step 3: Butterflies

Use a pencil to draw a body and a pair of antenna onto each butterfly. If this is difficult for you to see in the picture, just look at the image of the finished card to see the format.

Step 4: Trail

Use a pencil to draw a wavy dotted line behind each butterfly representing the flight pattern.

Trace the butterfly body and flight trail with a black permanent marker.

Step 5: Inside

Repeat the process with just one butterfly inside the card.

Some options for the inside messages for this first card are:
- You're the only one for me.
- You give me direction.
- Love is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and softly lands on your shoulder.

Step 6: Flight

Here's a great example for a Valentine's Day card. Attach a row of hearts in a random color pattern, leaving a space for one heart. Then create a butterfly with matched wings flying from the open space.

Some optional inside messages for this second card are:
- You complete me.
- Together we can fly.
- Step out. Be different.
- I always knew you were special.

Step 7: Get Creative

These are just a few examples. And if you have a larger heart punch, you can do larger butterflies. I think this is a great idea for making easy cards, with the added benefit of recycling. It was really fun and I'm sure you can come up with some great ideas of your own.

To see more of my original tutorials, visit http://childmadetutorials.blogspot.com.