Matchbox Valentine Keepsake

Here is a fun Valentine you can make with an empty matchbox.

The best part is the surprise inside.

A little diorama of arrows and a lacy Valentine heart.

But that is not all, one of the arrows is on a stick, so you can slide it from side to side to reach the bulls-eye. 

There you go.

To start you will need;
*an empty matchbox
*some decorative tape and /or paper
*scissors
*glue
*regular tape
*toothpicks
*a coffee stirrer and several toothpicks
*card-stock paper
*colored pencils/pens/markers
*tiny brads (found in craft-booking section)
*needle and thread

So, take the them empty inner box, and start to cover the surfaces with decorative or plain tape and/or paper. I used the tape around the inside and outside edges, as it was pretty quick and easy. Then just measured the inside and cut paper and glued in side for the background.

Then I poked a hole in the bottom to make a slit, with pointy scissors, and cut lengthwise across, so the stick will slide back and forth. You may want to cut the slit a little wider, but not too wide, so stick slides easily.

 I decorated the outside of the box the same as the inside, just using different patterns. Decorative paper on top, and then some striped tape on the sides.

I got the coffee stirrer, and cut it in half, to attach to the main arrow. Also, I cut out and colored a heart 

as the bulls eye from cardstock paper.  The heart just attached inside the corner of the box, with some glue.

For how to make the arrows, see below.

 I used toothpicks, cut in half  and just wrapped some decorative tape around. 

Then using white paper, I cut to tiny triangles for the top, and glued them on either side of the top arrow. 

For the bottom, I cut the shape shown on the left, and glued on either side of the bottom of the arrow.

 Then I used thread, and tied around the center of each arrow, so they hung on strings...leaving about 3 inches in length.  I picked one arrow, and taped to the end of the coffee stirrer stick. Tape was much more secure than gluing since it's all so small.

To attach the arrows inside, I first took a needle, and poked a hole through the top of the box, one for each arrow, spaced evenly across the top. But not in the center, where the sliding arrow with go. 

Then I took the arrow, with thread tied to them, and thread it through the needle, and coming from the inside of the box, sewed it through the hole.

 To secure the thread in place, I stuck in tiny brads, wrapped the thread around, and secured the brads in place.  They were held in place pretty securely with just that, but I took the thread end's and tied them to the
end's next to them, for extra security. (a bit of overkill maybe). Trim any excess thread.

 Then when all in place, the arrow on the stick will fit into its slot, and slide from left to right, to hit the heart "bulls-eye".

The arrows on the string, all hung at different heights, and they sway back and forth.

Tah dah, now that is a Valentine worth saving!