I love sending my kiddos lunchbox love notes all through the school year so that we can all stay connected while we’re apart for the day. So you know I had to come up with something for the Ladybug while she was away at camp for a whole week! I sat down to make up little notes to stick in her bag and remembered something genius I saw on Pinterest at some point. Mini envelopes made of hearts. Yep, jackpot! Quick, easy, versatile. I made up about 10 of them, including personal notes, in about 30 minutes and stashed them all over in her suitcase and backpack.

All you need is some pretty papers (two-sided makes them extra cute!) and adhesive. You’ll want to use a glue dot if you’re designing a fold-out card or some regular sticky tape adhesive for envelopes with separate notes. I used 6×6 squares of paper and the envelopes ended up roughly 2.5×2 inches.

I used 6×6 squares of paper from a tear-off pad. I’m not one for much measuring, so I just eyeballed my cutting and the final envelopes ended up roughly 2.5 x 2 inches.

After you free-hand cut the hearts out, start by laying the heart out on your work surface with the point toward the top (Step 1).

Fold the right and left side in about half the distance to the center. You want the right and left sides to be folded in the same amount, but the exact amount is a little forgiving. It looks like wings and you still haven’t touched the top point of the heart (Step 2).

Then fold the bottom of the heart up so that the bottom corners meet the new corners at the top. Basically, fold your wings in half perpendicular and leave the top point sticking out. There will be a curve in the new edge from the curves in your original heart (Step 3).

Done.

Well, almost.

If you want an actual envelope to insert a note, you’ll want to add a little adhesive to the right and left side to secure the envelope together. Then you can insert a note. I found that the papers in my SmashPads were the perfect size to fold in half and fit in the envelope as a note. Of course, the mini envelopes that came with my Smashbook supplies would have worked too–but where’s the fun in that?! {smile} Besides, that’s a much more expensive option if you want to do a bunch of them.

Then you can close them with a little glue dot at the point of the flap. Or a tiny bit of adhesive, a ribbon, a paperclip, a smidge of washi tape (I’m addicted!), or any other creative idea you have.  They’re perfect for a special bit of snack change or a few folded up dollar bills and I think my kiddos will love this for ice cream money during the school year!

For an even easier twist, you can also not add the adhesive on the sides to create an unfolding card. I did several like this as well. Just decorate the side of the heart that is facing up to your heart’s content, then fold as shown, and add last little glue dot or bit of adhesive to the point of the flap to stick it together. When they lift the flap, the whole card unfolds into the note.

I did about half of the Ladybug’s that way.

This project is also great when you have to get a lot of notes done in a hurry–for a school party, teacher appreciation, or last-minute thank you notes.

What creative projects have you worked on lately?