I love cards. I buy them for holidays, for birthdays, for congratulations, for get wells and just for fun. I love how a $3.99 piece of folded cardstock can make someone laugh out loud, grin from ear to ear or fill a tissue full of tears. Yet, I am a bit of a card snob. I won’t just buy any old card in the store. I have to read them closely, mull them over and ponder the personality of the recipient before I make my final decision.Which is why this Valentine’s Day, I’m either going to have to pull out the construction paper and markers or convince Karen to design a custom card for me to present to my Valentine.

You see, last week I went shopping for Valentine’s Day cards – I was determined not to wait till the last minute like usual – and was a wee bit shocked by the selection I found at Target. You’d think in two plus aisles I’d have found the perfect card, or at least a card. Well that’s what I thought too, until I started reading them. I went from one heart shaped card to another and found all sorts of uses for chocolate syrup, Taylor Swift bedazzled greetings (yes she has her own line of cards) and anti-Valentine’s Day sentiments. Somewhere between the “hot & steamy” section and the box of message hearts, I realized my quest for the perfect message had gone horribly awry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I realize this is a holiday for love and well, anti-love but, I am not at the stage in the game where saccharine-rich mush is appropriate, nor do I feel comfortable proffering a card describing things you can do sans clothes (I was at Target, not Spencers for goodness sakes) as for the funny ones which are usually great fall backs, they didn’t even make me giggle and let’s be honest I laugh at the really corny stuff that has your average 5-year old rolling on the floor. I finally admitted defeat when all that was left to read were cards for husbands and wives.

So today instead of giving the perfect Hallmark card or begging Karen to work her design magic, I am going to attempt my hand at creative directing with the help of construction paper and markers. I’ll let you know how it turns out….