DIY Date Night Invitation

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Surprise your love with a night out or a weekend away.

How many of us have maps laying around the house that we no longer use, or we have collected from our various road trips, weekends away, or that we used before the GPS? I have an entire file full of them and I’m really not sure why I hang onto so many of them. I guess it’s the memories associated with each one, maybe one day I’ll use them for projects, along with the 100 or so paper rolls and empty containers, or maybe I’m just bordering on being on the next episode of Hoarders.

Well, here I am finally putting a map to good use.

What you need to make this homemade invitation:

• White card stock
• Map
• Very basic sewing skills or a hot glue gun
• X-ACTO Knife
• Something heart-shaped to trace around such as a cookie cutter or stencil
• Chipboard letters

Step 1:

Cut a basic card shape from the card stock. I personally like square cards, but you might want to get a little more creative and try a heart, oval, circle, or just simply fold your card stock in half. You can round the corners, leave them square, whatever suits your fancy.

Step 2:

Find the location you want to take your love on a map, place a heart-shaped stencil or cookie cutter over that spot and using the X-ACTO knife cut it out.

Step 3:

Place the heart on the front of the card and arrange the chipboard letters how you want them to appear so you can get a feel for the layout of the card.

Step 4:

Place the heart-shaped map piece on the inside of the front cover of the card and trace around it allowing about 3-4mm extra around the heart, so basically you are making a slightly larger heart on the card. Again, cut it out with the X-ACTO knife.

Step 5:

Using a sewing machine, or hot glue attach just the center of the heart to the inside of the card so that it peeks through the hole. Fold up the edges.

Step 6:

Attach the letters the way you had arranged them previously. Most chipboard letters come with a sticky back, so peel the backing off and attach, or if they don’t, just use a little glue.

Step 7:

Inside the card outline the details of your date – the exact location and time to meet you and if they should be wearing something specific or bringing anything with them.

5 ideas for your date night or weekend away:

1. Re-create your first date.
2. Take them to their favorite restaurant or one that you know they have always wanted to go to.
3. Do something they have always wanted to do – this could mean tickets to the opera, or a sports game, wine tasting, hot air balloon ride, scuba diving. Knock something off their bucket list.
4. A romantic weekend getaway – whether it be camping, a romantic B&B or a ritzy hotel with nothing but champagne and room service.
5. Date at home – send the kids to a sleepover (if you have them). You can do anything from an at home spa date to a picnic and outdoor movie night, or a romantic dinner.

Tonya