• My husband and I are quite frugal. We are doing our best to save most every extra penny that comes our way. Because of that fact holidays, like Valentines Day, are quite simple and small for us. Usually just a card with some sweet words, and I intend to make mine.

    Last year on Pinterest I saw a few different tutorials on making scratchers. You know, like a lottery ticket type deal. You use a penny to scratch off the top layer to reveal your prize underneath. I thought that would make a fun and in expensive gift for everyone in the family. I made one for my husband, and the kids all made them for their friends.

    Our method was simple. For the kids we used heavy card stock and our printer. We printed “Happy Valentines Day” on the card stock about four per sheet. We cut the card stock into the individual cards. Then the kids drew three hearts underneath each set of happy valentines day. Inside of the heart they wrote the prizes they were willing to give. They included a five-minute massage, a chocolate bar, or a candy heart. We made sure the choices were innocent, and something they’d be willing to give to all of their classmates not just their friends.

    Okay, so now we have cards that say happy valentines day and have three hearts on them. Each heart has a prize written inside. Now have your kids color over the hearts with white crayon. You really want to layer it on thick. I had my kids press as hard as they could, and go over it several times.

    Finally we used two tablespoons of acrylic paint mixed with one tablespoon of dish soap to paint over the hearts. The paint covered the written prizes underneath, but because of the white crayon it doesn’t actually touch the card stock, so you are able to scratch it off later.

    Let the paint dry and you are done.

    For my husband I included other types of gifts, but I have to admit the five-minute massage was still one of the top choices.