Photocraft a Sweet Treat

What’s more fun than offering sweets to your valentines? Maybe you bake cookies for your grandchildren or buy a box of chocolates for your mom. For us, it’s another opportunity for photocrafting! Here’s a great idea to do with your kids. Or to make something fun for your own sweetie! It’s a Lollipop Card!

These cute cards are fairly simple. All you do is have your child pose like they are handing something to you. Upload the photo to your computer or do it from your phone. Add HAPPY VALENTINE’S to the photo and print them out at home or through a printing service (in town or online). Then you just poke the lollipop through  where the hand is. It looks like the person is handing you the lollipop.

As we noted above, you can find lots of explanations online. We’ll try to put together their good ideas to encourage you to try it yourself.

1. Gather your supplies: a digital camera (your phone is fine), a printer or internet connection to send out the image for printing, a sharp blade (e.g. an exacto knife), and lollipops.
2. Take a photo of your child (or yourself or someone else) with their hand out as if they’re holding onto a lollipop. TIPS:
   • be sure they’re not actually holding anything;
   • a fist is a great hand position;
   • a plain background can give the most focus on your child and on the lollipop;
   • an outstretched hand will ensure that the lollipop doesn’t obscure the face.
3. If you desire, add any borders or text or artwork to the photo. (Alternatively you could have your child stand in front of a whiteboard with a greeting on it when you take the photo.). On a computer, you can use Photoshop Elements or Microsoft PowerPoint or any other program that allows you to edit the photo. On your phone, you can use Picasa or other photo editing apps. Some printing services offer options for decorating the photo.
4. Print the photo or send it to a photo printing service.

We took three photos and first added borders and (sometimes) text. The first was done with Photoshop Elements, just adding a. border and some text. The second was done in Microsoft Word. The third was done with Zazzle and is by far the most flexible for our purposes. Zazzle gives you tools for changing backgrounds, adding graphic elements, and typing in text. Two particularly nice features are that
1. Zazzle allows you to switch sizes so you can see your design and photo in different formats and
2. Zazzle allows you to download the image for printing locally or gives you the option to purchase cards they print.

We printed each of these on our ink jet printer using photo paper so that it gave a bit more rigidity to the card. This is a great method for one or two cards. However, if you’re going to make many cards of the same design, say for a classroom or neighborhood, a printing service is the way to go. You can often find a 1-hour service (try Walgreens or Costco). Alternatively, if you have planned ahead, you can order the cards online (e.g. with Zazzle.)

• What have we learned?
  • It matters how the person holds their fist. The best is clasped as if they’re holding a stick upright AND with the arm extended toward the camera (so that the fist is larger.).
  • The slots you cut are significantly larger than the stick diameter so that you can get the lollipop through the paper. Note that I didn’t cut the slots large enough on the middle image so that the paper tore and I had to draw in a handle.
  • Lollipops vary in size. Smaller ones will go through the card more easily. Larger ones are fun to have protruding beyond the card. My cards were all approximately 6″ high. The lollipops were 5″ long.

Now you can start being creative!

I think it would be fun to think of an adult version as well. And i would use one of those delicious hot chocolate stirrers. Have fun — and have a Happy Valentine’s Day.

We thank the authors of the blogs we have referenced here for their ideas and examples. We always appreciate Unsplash for their photographs, in particular the photo by Kiana Bosman, the photo by Adrià Crehuet Cano, and the photo by Juan Encalada.