It started out as the perfect craft project for my 3-year-old daughter and me.

I saw the Valentine's cards in "Family Fun" magazine or "Parents" or one of the ones that I get that usually succeed in making me feel bad about myself.

Simple. Take a plain white card, roll a Matchbox car in some red paint, roll teeny tire tracks onto the card and write on the inside, "You've made tracks on my heart Valentine!"

We sat down at the table with all of our supplies and started crafting. I poured out the paint and rolled a car in it to demonstrate. I didn't notice the telltale clicking coming from the car, however.

When I picked it up, vrrroooom! The wheels took off, splattering both of us with red paint.

She thought this was the best craft ever. "My turn! My turn!" she said.

And that was the end of that.

I guess my first mistake was trying to make our own Valentines, when the Valentines at the store cost less than the craft supplies. My second mistake, thinking that my daughter or her 3-year-old playmates at daycare would care if they got a handmade card. My third mistake, enclosing candy bars containing nuts in the cards.

Last year I thought I would play it safe and enclose stickers instead of candy in the cards. We were the only ones who did that. I won't make that mistake again. But I can't guarantee that we'll avoid disastrous craft projects.