Greeting cards are an excellent example of an everyday object that can become magical with a touch of Augmented Reality.

Just a few weeks ago was Valentine’s Day, and if you think you did something special for your loved one, we’re pretty sure one guy – Vashner Muhi from Sydney, Australia – has you beat. Vashner used the Layar Creator to create a personalized, interactive Valentine’s Day card for his girlfriend. And of course, she loved it.

“Being a graphic designer by occupation, I’m always trying new styles and techniques to be innovative and always grow in the field,” Vashner said. “So I got curious about Augmented Reality because I’ve never had previous experience with it.”

Vashner inserted a “SCAN ME” card into his Valentine’s Day card for his girlfriend, which accompanied her favorite flowers. By scanning the card, his girlfriend was able to watch a personalized video message from Vashner, with hints at where they would go on the special day.

“Layar was the best and did exactly what I wanted to surprise my girlfriend,” Vashner said.

Check it out yourself by scanning Vashner’s card at our Get Inspired page.

Valentine’s Day is a great time of the year to let those near and dear to us know just how much we love and appreciate them. So this year, why not go above and beyond to create a truly unique, personalized valentine that your special someone won’t soon forget?

With Augmented Reality and the Layar Creator, you can spread the love by creating an interactive valentine that comes to life with a video or audio message, a photo slideshow, a link to a Website and much more. Your imagination is the limit!

Here’s how it works. Just scan or take a picture of your card or valentine and upload the image to the Layar Creator. Then simply drag-and-drop the interactive digital elements you want to add to it. You can easily record a quick video greeting using your smartphone or webcam and upload it to the Creator to give your valentine an interactive personal touch.

Then just hit publish and you’re done! Let your special someone know they can scan your valentine with the free Layar App for iOS, Android and BlackBerry to unlock your personal message.

Get started right now for free by signing up for the Layar Creator! Or, see more about how Layar can spice up your Valentine’s Day.

Earlier this year we shared an interesting client example from Food & Home Entertaining (F&HE, published by Caxton Magazines), a South African magazine which had partnered with grocery store chain SPAR to offer a recipe contest to readers with Interactive Print. Building off the success of that campaign, the pair have teamed up again to make a special December issue for the holidays with loads of interactive content.

Working with Layar partner Digital Narrative, F&HE has included 18 Interactive Print pages that reveal video recipe tutorials, secret ingredients, bonus recipes, tips and even prizes when scanned with the Layar App. By watching, video demos from the magazine’s food editor Thulisa Martins, readers can win vouchers to SPAR stores, as well as hand-picked kitchen gadgets and cookbook hampers.

Click on the images below and scan them with Layar to see how the holiday edition of F&HE comes to life with Layar.

“We’ve been bringing a lot of our print content to life through Augmented Reality on our various magazine titles as it enhances the reader’s experience by giving them access to exclusive content,” said Jana Kleinloog, Digital Manager at Caxton Magazine. “The Food & Home Entertaining audience is really interacting with us via this medium especially when Layar gives them useful content like cooking tutorial videos and extra recipes.”

“It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with Caxton Magazines and SPAR on this interactive issue,” said Johan Walters, Director of Digital Narrative. “We are firm believers in adding magic to print and look forward to engage the mobile savvy Food & Home Entertaining reader.”

Judith Gale, Group Brands Manager for SPAR, commented that the use of Layar’s Interactive Print technology in the magazine “truly makes the dishes come alive and even easier to make.”

In 2013, a group of developers at Dutch Rose Media created the “Smilez” app with the Layar SDK to allow anyone to create personalized Augmented Reality greeting cards.

The app is pretty simple. Using their phone, users can record a video message, pick a card design and add text. Then, Smilez sends a physical greeting card to the recipient who can scan the card with the Smilez app to watch the video message come to life.

After receiving attention both from the press and from large brands including IBM and Deloitte, this small Dutch company wants to go international. They’ve launched a Kickstarter project to help fund the production of an international version of the app with more features, as well as the other elements of the business including global printing and shipping.

“People can back us on Kickstarter with different amounts. In exchange we offer some cool rewards as a thank you,” says Dutch Rose Media founder Natasja Paulssen. “These rewards can range from Smilez cards and Smilez campaigns to Augmented Reality posters.”

The company is hoping to raise €25,000 by August 27th, so have a look at their Kickstarter page if you’re interested in donating!

Net-a-Porter, one of the biggest names in online luxury shopping, has recently crossed over into print, launching its bi-monthly women’s magazine ”PORTER” complete with interactivity provided by Layar.

It’s a strategic and innovative step for the online fashion giant, and a logical one as fashion remains one of print’s most relevant and successful verticals. Net-a-Porter realized it made sense to get into the print industry as it found that many of its customers were already subscribed to between 4 and 5 fashion magazines.

The new PORTER magazine, launched on February 7th in over 60 countries, not only provides readers with the fashion insight and shopping they know from Net-a-Porter’s online presence – it also includes Interactive Print capabilities from Layar.

“PORTER will not only inspire and inform our reader with world class content but will also offer her the experience and service that she has come to expect, turning inspiration from the page into accessibility within seconds,” said editor-in-chief Lucy Yeomans in an interview with the Telegraph.

Nearly each page of the magazine (over 270 in total!) includes links to purchase products, watch videos, visit webpages and more. Readers need only scan the pages with the Net-a-Porter app, which uses the Layar SDK to provide interactive scanning in a friendly, familiar environment.

You can try it yourself as well by scanning PORTER magazine with the Layar App.

^{Before and after scanning PORTER with the Net-a-Porter app.}

^{Before and after scanning PORTER with the Net-a-Porter app.}