Valentine’s Day remains an important day out of the year for celebrating a special and loving relationship in your life.
Valentine’s gifts come from all kinds of sources to demonstrate your care and support for your partner. However, we think that some of the best and most memorable gifts are the ones you make yourself, particularly if you make them together.
The great thing about making your own Valentine’s crafts and projects is the ability to influence them with your own style and artistry.
In this article, we’ve put together a list of some of the best Valentine’s projects that you can enjoy with your partner and make your own.
1. I Love Your Mementos Jar
Mementos are little keepsake symbols that you can carry in your pocket to remind you of the love and support in your life. A mementos jar is a cute way of holding these mementos, so that you can grab them and remember them going out the door, or when you know you’re going to have a particularly rough day.
To make your own mementos jar, first, choose with your partner what these mementos should be. While it’s possible to create simple hand-sewn hearts, we encourage you to think outside the box about what kind of mementos will mean the most to you and your partner. This might be a handful of meaningful quotations, small drawings, or another pocket-sized keepsake that you will find meaningful.
Then once you’ve made your mementos, all that’s left is to find a mason jar to hold them and decorate it accordingly.
2. Valentine’s Snow Globe or Miniature Model
Combine creative abilities with your partner to create a miniature scene inside a snow globe. The easiest way to do this is to use an upside-down mason jar and construct the base of the model into the jar lid. You can also use a bell jar for this.
Plan the scene and style with your partner, then use your favorite materials for creating it. Consider paper cutouts, modeling clay, whittling, and 3D collage by adding small scenery items.
3. Crafty Letter Exchange
The only thing better than a love letter is a love letter written and delivered in a creative way. Spice up your Valentine’s message with creative stationery, a bit of calligraphic poetry, or original artwork.
Fold it into origami or a paper airplane to sail it across the room. Just remember, whatever wrapping your give to your words, don’t forget to write from the heart.
4. Conversation Hearts Sugar Cookies
Conversation hearts might be one of the most fun and traditional parts of Valentine’s Day, but not everyone likes the pure sugar candy, making it more of a novelty than an indulgence.
For Valentine’s Day make your own sugar cookie conversation hearts, using a simple heart cookie cutter for your dough, and a variety of colored icing. Write common Valentine’s Day phrases for the hearts, or even spend some time coming up with your own to decorate the cookies.
Let the icing dry, and then it’s time to indulge!
5. Valentine’s Bath Bombs
Bath bombs are a popular DIY gift for their ability to invite and entice the recipient to take some time for themselves and relax. They’re also a great project because they can be fairly easy to make while channeling many of the floral symbols of Valentine’s Day. Not to mention, this can be a wonderfully romantic gift as we get closer to the holiday of love.
To make your own bath balms, we recommend choosing a favorite floral element, such as rose or lavender, and then finding a trusted recipe online, such as this one.
6. Decorated Initial Candles
Candles are one of the more romantic elements of Valentine’s Day decor. And they’re also simple to make or decorate to personalize them. One way to make a candle feel more personal is to carve you and your partner’s initials into it.
This can be done in two ways. The first is to use a knife to carve into the candle. This will allow you to develop careful details and embellishments. Another way to do this to make it appear more natural and rustic is to use a heated metal skewer to melt the initials into the candle.
Once you have carved into the candle, use a gilded paint to clarify the designs.
7. Votive and Tealight Candle Holders
Have we mentioned how romantic candles are yet? Of course, we have.
One way to make sure that your Valentine’s decorations are on point is to make your own candle holders. You can do this using simple materials, such as concrete and silicone molds or glass jars. The key to personalizing these candle holders is in choosing the right paint colors and designs that help you and your partner express your own romantic style.
8. Valentine’s Calligraphy Signs
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show off your calligraphy prowess. And aside from your customary love notes, there’s no better way to do this than to create a wooden sign to decorate your apartment and commemorate your love.
Pick a quotation that will fit on your wooden board. This can be something personalized or a quotation that means something to you. Then, either using a paint marker or creating a stencil for your design, paint the words onto the board.
9. Photo Garlands and Photo Albums
Photographs are a powerful way of remembering and commemorating the good times. However, with digital photos, must of our photos remain on a device’s memory, as opposed to something physical that we can see every day.
To create a photo garland or album, print out some of your favorite photos on high-quality photo paper. Make sure that the print sized are consistent so that your garland won’t look unbalanced.
Then, create card-stock mattes, leaving a little space at the top of each matte to cut out a hole. Glue the photos to each matte. Thread some yarn or twine through the holes in each photo. Then, tie a loose knot at the top to hold the photo cards in place. Hang the garland against the wall with all of the photos facing out.
10. Valentine’s Art Day
If you and your partner are both creative, you can host a dedicated art day for the two of you. Make your art materials available, spend some time sketching together, or choose a prompt or idea to be creative about. The important part is spending time together.