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Have you ever made your own scratch art paper? It’s a little time consuming, but it’s really fun to make and use. I made up some recently to use as scratch art valentine lunch box notes, but you can use it for regular art or to make your own valentines for other people as well. 
What You’ll Need
- plain white paper — heavy cardstock is better than regular paper, but either will do
- oil pastels
- black paint
- dish soap
- painting supplies
- pencil and scissors
- toothpick or something to scratch with
How to Make Scratch Art Valentine Lunch Box Notes
Color all over your paper with the oil pastels. Make sure you get it all covered. This is what will show when you scratch off the paint.
Mix black paint with a squirt of dish soap. Use a foam brush, or whatever you have handy, to paint all over the paper. Allow to dry. Repeat as necessary (I ended up doing three coats).
If your paper curls on the edges after drying, place it under a heavy book overnight. 
Draw heart shapes on the back — use a cookie cutter or something else heart shaped if you like — and cut out the shapes. Depending on the size of your heart, you should get three, four or more shapes out of each sheet of paper. 
Use a toothpick, chopstick or dowel to scratch your message. It’s not perfect, as you can see, but it’s still readable. The one above was done on cardstock, while the one below was on regular paper. The paint didn’t seem to cover quite as well on regular paper, but it still works either way.
Slip it in your kid’s lunchbox, backpack, or stick to their bathroom mirror or door.
Do you make valentine messages for your kids? I’d love to hear about how you do it.
