DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts

Hey hey hey! Long time, no blog. I hate January. Polar vortex. Yada, yada, yada. How have you guys been holding up this winter? I’ve been really busy at work, battling the winter blues per the usual, and overall just trying to survive the cold temps that hit the midwest the past couple of weeks. But, the sun made an appearance today for the first time in what seems like years, and I suddenly remembered that Valentine’s Day is literally right around the corner. 

Like next week. 

Like in five days. 

Are you stressed? 

I’m not! And you shouldn’t be either, because I have some fun DIY Valentine’s gifts just for you! 

I should say, I know a lot of people aren’t big Valentine’s Day fans, and I used to be the same way, until I embraced it. Valentine’s doesn’t just have to be for your romantic interest. It’s a day to celebrate everyone you love: friends, coworkers, parents, and sure, your significant other. I love Valentine’s Day in its purest, cheesiest form, which is to say candy and heart shaped pizzas. But anyway, here are some quick and frugal ideas for your special someone(s). 

I Love You to Bits and Pieces Jar

What you need: 

1. A mason jar
2. Assorted candies 
3. Ribbon to tie around the jar
4. Bits and pieces to fill the jar (see what I did there?)

Optional: Stickers to decorate the outside of your jar, spray paint to spray your jar from the inside to give it a nice opaque color (I left mine clear so goodies were visible!).

How to: 

It’s simple. Fill your jar with candies and bits that your Valentine loves, and decorate the outside how you please. Viola! 

For Him: 

Inside: Candy, a mini bottle, chapstick, B&B Stress Relief hand sanitizer.

For Her:

Inside: Candy, homemade elastic hair ties, B&B Vanilla Buttercream hand cream, NYX Butter Lipstick in Hubba Bubba, Sally Hansen Insta Dri polish in Shooting Star.

Let Me Count the Ways Jar

How do I love thee? Well here’s how! I gave one of these to my mom many years ago, and she still has it to this day. It’s simple, fill a jar with tiny pieces of paper; written on each is something you love about your Valentine. It’s a nice little pick me up for any day of the year. 

What you need: 

1. A mason jar
2. A few selections of colored paper
3. Ribbon to tie around the jar
4. Colored pens/markers

Optional: Stickers to decorate the outside of your jar, spray paint to spray your jar from the inside to give it a nice opaque color (again, haha), and decorative edge scissors.

How to: 

1. Cut out small pieces of paper for all of your notes, and get creative! I used a combination of craft and regular paper in all different colors. Some have straight edges, some are scalloped, some are even shaped like hearts! How many? Well, that’s up to you! But, if you made 52, your love would have something to read for each week until next Valentine’s Day. 
2. Use colored markers/pens to fill all your notes with love. What tiny, maybe overlooked something do you love most about your Valentine? Their sweet freckles? Their homemade spaghetti sauce? Their ability to make your worst days better? Write it down!
3. Fill your jar with all the love and decorate the outside however you like! 

Shadowbox Memories

Are you a collector of ticket stubs and greeting cards? Every concert wristband you’ve ever worn? Love notes? I feel you. I hoard this stuff. I also love to scrapbook. But, let’s face it, there’s only enough room in my house for so many scrapbooks and some keepsakes are just too special to sit closed in a book on a shelf. Thank goodness for shadow boxes! 

What you need: 

1. A shadow box 
2. This and that keepsakes that you’ve collected
3. Photos of you and bae
4. A hot glue gun 
5. Glue sticks
6. Decorative paper
7. Push pins

Optional: Ribbons, confetti, and anything else you’d like to fill your shadow box with! 

How to: 

Get to work! Filling a shadow box is a lot like high stakes scrapbooking. Why? Well because it’ll always be on display, and because you only have so much space to work with, not pages and pages. For ours, I filled it with the key to our first place, a save-the-date from our wedding, one of my favorite engagement photos, and some other meaningful notes and ticket stubs from our relationship. Also, I kind of thought of it like a snow globe and filled the bottom with heart shaped confetti that I made using a heart hole punch. Mine was white and I wasn’t in love with the color, so I spray painted it dark gray. 

DIY Jewelry

And here you were thinking I forgot about my Galentines. Not a chance! Here’s the deal, I think friendship jewelry is making a comeback, and if it’s not, I don’t care. I’ve been making these dainty shell necklaces for years, and they make great gifts for so many occasions, so why not Galentine’s Day? There are a million different avenues for homemade jewelry, but call me Sally, because I love seashells! 

What you need: 

1. Dainty shells with natural holes. (No beach? Try this bead mix from Michael’s) Thank goodness for my awesome in-laws and their beautiful tropical home because every time I visit, I come back with about 100 of these. They are so fun to hunt for and I think they’re beautiful.
2. Thin hemp cord (this comes in a zillion colors, but I like natural).
3. Various dainty beads
4. Metal necklace/bracelet closures (I prefer toggle clasps)
5. Crimp covers (these cover knots)
6. Small pliers
7. Scissors

Optional: Cute little charm beads, which often fit nicely inside your shell for a sweet little message on the back. 

How to: I always loop through my shell as the centerpiece of my necklace. After that, I add beads however I want. I think of seashells as snowflakes of the beach, none of them exactly the same, and that’s how my necklaces are too. Unique and imperfect. Finally, I add a toggle closure and use crimps to cover the knots. 

So there you have it, some cheap and thoughtful DIY gifts for your Valentine this year. How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? 

xoxo Leigh Ann