15 Valentine's Day craft ideas for DIY gifts and decoration inspiration
Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, and what better way to express your love and appreciation for your dear ones than with a heartfelt DIY Valentine's gift?
While some may prefer a specific store-bought present, others yearn for something more personal, crafted with care and affection. Crafting a DIY gift allows you to add a personal touch, expressing sentiments that words sometimes cannot. Additionally, if you have time to spare, why not blend both approaches by purchasing a special item and accompanying it with a handmade creation, ensuring your gift is both unique and satisfies your loved one's wishes and desires.
Whether you’re looking for a present for your husband, daughter or friend, you will find something on this list that will put your crafting skills to good use. How about a pinch pot shaped like a heart for holding jewellery or keys, or a biscuit with an edible love message. And many of these simple ideas are simple enough that the kids can help with a little oversight from an adult.
If you’re wondering “what makes a good Valentine’s Day craft?” Really, it’s any gift you make that shows your loved one(s) how special they are to you. Better yet, most of these ideas can be done on a budget and completed in under an hour. Read on for plenty of Valentine's Day craft inspiration...
Celery Root Rose Print Cards
Use a common kitchen ingredient to create special rose-like prints on notes cards. This is a great Valentine for kids to make for their parents or classmates.
To make: Cut 2 to 3 inches off the bottom of a head of celery. Pat the cut end dry with a paper towel. Press the cut end on a stamp pad and then onto a blank note card, tapping the root side to help make an even print. When dry, add a sweet greeting.
Hanging Mason Jar Bouquet
Nothing says “I love you” like a bouquet of flowers. Your special someone will be filled with delight first thing in the morning when they open their door and see this arrangement nestled in a mason jar and hanging from the door knob.
To make: Snugly tie a length of ribbon around the threads of a mason jar (you can add a few dabs of hot glue for added hold, if desired). Fill the jar with water and flowers. Hang around a doorknob.
Cards
Make Valentine’s Day cards out of paint sample cards — in seconds. Jodi Kahn, author of Simply Sublime Gifts, turned us on to this sweet idea for repurposing free color swatches: Press inked stamps onto the strips to form phrases like XOX and let dry for five minutes. Kahn’s trick for ensuring that the ink adheres? Coat each paint strip with aerosol hair spray before stamping.
Pom Pom Flowers
Give yarn an opportunity to bloom. Crafter Lauren De Bellis came up with this genius way to keep vases stocked with fresh flowers — even in winter. The key to creating these allium-like blossoms: pom-pom makers in three different sizes. Wrap yarn around the tool's arms, then follow the package instructions to make your own buds. Add a dab of hot glue to the end of a thin twig and insert into each pom-pom's center. Hold in place until the glue dries (about 10 seconds) and arrange.
You're The Jam Cards
Give a gift that your loved one can enjoy on Valentine's Day and a few days after. The below printable gift tag makes this super easy to pull together.
Get the instructions for You're The Jam Cards.
Homespun Pincushions
This nifty project pairs up fabric scraps and heart-shaped cookie cutters.
Step 1: To construct the base of each pincushion, place the sharp side of a cookie cutter atop a thin piece of Styrofoam. Press the cutter down to imprint the Styrofoam; then cut out the heart shape.
Step 2: Cut a heart-shaped piece of fabric that’s about half an inch larger, all the way around, than the Styrofoam shape. Lay the fabric, right side down, on a flat surface and cover the back with tacky glue; then press the Styrofoam against the fabric. Pull the excess fabric up around the Styrofoam’s edges and secure with more glue; let dry for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Meanwhile, cut a square of fabric that’s at least three inches larger, all the way around, than the cookie cutter. Hold the cutter, sharp side up, on your lap and lay the fabric right side down over the cutter. Push fibrefill stuffing into the cutter until the fabric protrudes about three-quarters of an inch past the cutter, forming the pincushion. To close the cushion, fold over the remaining fabric and secure with a running stitch.
Step 4: With the cushion still inside the cutter, cover the cushion’s bottom with a generous coat of glue. Push the unfinished side of the fabric-covered Styrofoam heart into the cutter so that it presses against the glue; hold in place for three minutes. Let dry for 30 minutes.
Heart-Shaped Clay Ring Plate
This simple idea makes a perfect last-minute Valentine’s Day gift for anyone you’d like to show how much you care. Personalise it with a special message.
To make: Shape modelling clay into a shallow heart-shaped plate. Add a decorative edge and etch a saying in the bottom of the plate with a skewer or sculpting tool. Bake as directed.
Painted Mason Jar Lantern
Give the gift of light and love with this simply decorated glass jar.
To make: Paint stripes on the inside of a mason or other glass jar with acrylic paint. Once dry, place a battery-operated tea light in the jar. Screw on the lid and embellish with a piece of colorful twine or ribbon.
Coffee Filter Poppies
Unlike the fleeting beauty of real poppies, these vibrant paper poppies provide endless enjoyment.
To make: Dip paper coffee filters in Cherry Red Rit Dye. Lay flat on a cooling rack fitted in a rimmed baking sheet or hang over a drying line. When dry, kink and fold the filters so they have a little movement. Use a dab of hot glue or a glue stick to glue the centers of two filters together to create petal layers.
Cut a 6-inch piece of black pipe cleaner and roll into a flat circle; use hot glue to glue to the center of the poppy. Twist three green pipe cleaners together; use hot glue to glue to the back of the poppy. Arrange poppies in bud vases.
Custom Printed Market Tote
Make sure your loved one is the belle of the farmers market by crafting them a custom market tote replete with iron-on imagery and a ribbon embellishment (if you wish).
To make: On your computer, design imagery including punny sayings, if desired (ours says, “I love you from my head tomatoes,” underneath an illustration of tomatoes). Print on iron-on transfer paper. Cut out around imagery and iron on a canvas tote bag. Stick a ribbon embellishment to the top.
Ruffled Valentine’s Sweet Jar
Transform a plain mason jar into a spectacular sweet jar that is guaranteed to spark joy.
To make: Write loving words and draw decorations on a mason jar with acrylic markers. To make the collar: cut a long, 1-inch-wide strip of seasonally appropriate fabric. Using a needle and thread, sew a long, loose running stitch along one edge of the fabric, leaving lengths of thread at either end. Pull thread and fabric to create a ruffle. Use extra thread to tie the ruffle around the top of the jar.
Love Message Iron-on Dishtowels
Beautiful and utilitarian, these custom dishtowels will bring love and joy to the most used room in the house: the kitchen.
To make: On your computer, design imagery including photographs, if desired. Print on iron-on transfer paper. Cut out around imagery and iron on cotton dishtowels per manufacturer’s directions.
Sweet Charcuterie Heart
A candy charcuterie mosaic makes the perfect centrepiece or an activity to do with the kids for a family celebration of the holiday.
To make: Using a heart-shaped tray, pick out sweets in several different Valentine’s Day shades. Sort candies by colour and place them into the board one colour at a time to create an ombre effect.
A Taste of Romance
The only thing better than a home-baked sugar biscuit? One that doubles as a love letter. Food-safe markers make it possible and royal icing makes it irresistibly delicious.
Pull-Out Photo Album
Transform a series of candid images into a curated collection with the help of a lidded wooden box.
Step 1: Cut an 8 1/2"W × 14"L piece of heavy card stock to a width of 2 13/16". Using a ruler and a pencil, measure and mark the card stock, crosswise, every 2 13/16 inches.
Step 2: Fold the card stock at the first mark, creasing it with a bone folder to get a precise line. At the next mark, fold and crease the card stock in the opposite direction. Continue the accordion folds for the remaining marks, then erase the marks.
Step 3: Position the folded card stock on a flat surface so that it's as shown, left—with the topmost fold facing you. Cut five images into two-inch squares, then center one on each card-stock square and adhere with spray mount. Allow 10 minutes of drying time.
Step 4: Fit your folded card stock in the box. If you'd like, hot-glue the back side of the bottom square to the inside bottom of the box, and let dry another 10 minutes. For a finishing touch, use hot glue to adhere a loop of ribbon to the top back edge of the top square, and let dry five minutes. And just like that, you've got a "scrapbook" that's the very picture of fun.
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