Valentine’s Day and Your Heart

In another life I think I must have been a bear, because I certainly do like to hibernate! Here we are at Valentine’s Day 2018 and I have been neglecting this blog. Hopefully I haven’t been neglecting my heart health though, getting daily exercise and watching my diet.

February is Heart and Stroke Month and because so many  in my circle of friends and family have suffered from heart disease, and/ or stroke, I campaign for donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Two facts: every seven minutes, heart disease or stroke take a Canadian life, and family history can double your risk of heart disease or stroke.* Even more sobering is the fact that heart disease and stroke are the number one killer of women globally. *

On a lighter note, today is Valentine’s Day, which we associate with love. I was curious how the heart became the symbol for love and found out that ancient Greeks believed that the heart was the organ that controlled feelings and emotions.

Way back when, as a school child, I learned the tradition of exchanging Valentine cards with my friends and it always seemed that the teacher used making a  card for “Mum and Dad” as an “art lesson”. In keeping with that tradition,  here is a simple card with tips for tools that make the process easier:

A paper trimmer

Since I was using a 13.9 X 13.9 card blank, I wanted to trim the sheet of red card stock to fit inside.

A die cutting machine and dies

Next, I die cut a heart shape from the front of the white card blank.

Using the die cutting machine and word dies, I cut out the words “love” and “you” above the cut- out heart, and embossed the bottom of the card front.

Scoring board and bone folder

The red card stock needed to be folded to fit inside the card. A score board and bone folder make it easy to get a good, crisp fold

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I applied double sided tape to the perimeter of the card front using a “tape runner”. Then I applied liquid glue in spots around the cut out words and heart shape. The folded red card stock was placed inside the white card and adhered to it. To my horror, I discovered a sticky smudge on the front of my card, so I cut some more red hearts using the leftover scrap of card stock. I glued them randomly over the front, thereby disguising the ugly smudge.

Inside the card, I glued a white paper doily and wrote the words “lots”. 

Simple, and fun to make.

As always, I hope you have a happy day and take your health to heart.

*According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.