Valentine’s Day isn’t just for the hopeless romantics. The start of the new year is always a busy, stressful time, and this February holiday is the perfect opportunity to pause and devote an afternoon, evening, or entire weekend, to catching up with the other loved ones in your life —your friends, family, or co-workers. Below we’ve created a list of fun, simple, and thoughtful DIY Valentine’s Day gifts you can surprise them with. After all, everyone appreciates a handmade gift. Better yet, you can make them together! There are even a few things on this list that you can make and keep for yourself (I’m mostly talking about the no-bake Oreo Cheesecake Strawberries). Don’t worry, most of these require little effort!What You’ll Need: – 1 lb. strawberries – 1 package of Oreo cookies – 2 packages of 8 oz. soft cream cheese – ½ cup powdered sugar – ½ tablespoon vanilla extract – mini Oreos or mini graham crackers Instructions: 1. Cut strawberry stems and the inside of the strawberry with a small knife so there’s space for filling. 2. Trim a bit of the bottom tip so that the strawberry can stand upright. Then place on a cookie sheet. 3. To make the Oreo cheesecake filling, crush the cookies with a food processor or do it the old-fashioned way (place in a ziplock bag and smash with rolling pin). Then mix 1 package of softened cream cheese to the crushed pieces. 4. Use a spoon to add the filling with the strawberries. 5. In a separate bowl, beat the second package of cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer until it’s nice and fluffy. 6. Pipe the cream cheese mixture into Oreo-stuffed strawberries using a pastry bag. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The original creator recommends making these treats 4-5 hours before serving as the strawberries may get soggy. 7. Before serving, garnish with cookie crumbs!
What You’ll Need: – Pom Poms – Clear Contact paper – Hole Punch – Ribbons – Cereal Box/Cardboard – Glue 1. Trace medium sized hearts on a sheet of clear contact paper. This blogger used foam hearts from a local Dollar Store. If you want to save time, fold the contact paper so that you can double your production when cutting. The example shown uses 6 hearts total. 2. Using the same outline, cut out 6 hearts from an old cereal box or cardboard. 3. Adhere the non-sticky side of the Clear Contact Paper to the cardboard with glue so that you can add the Pom Poms to the sticky side. Create your own patterns! 4. Hole punch the top of each part and string them together with ribbon.
Place a black and white photo of your choice into a vegetable oil-filled mason jar. The oil will preserve the photograph and add a vintage effect. Just as this blogger disha-dosha’s friend did, add a sprig of dried lavender for a heavenly scent.
What You’ll Need: – 1/2 stripe fabric – 3/4 yard solid red (two-sided) fabric – Straw wreath (keep plastic on) – Sewing pins – Fabric glue – Screwdriver – Suggested crafting tools: Cutting mat, ruler, clear quilter ruler, roller blade, iron Instructions: 1. Iron fabric. Then use a cutting mat, roller blade, and ruler (or clear quilter ruler) to cut the solid fabric into 5×5″ squares. 2. Cut four 2.5” strips using the striped fabric. 3. Using three strips of 2.5” fabric, pin one end of the stripe fabric to the back of the wreath and begin wrapping until the stripes match all around. Use fabric glue to secure any ravels or loose ends. 4. Use a screw driver to punch the fabric from the center so that it goes into the remaining sections of wreath. Do this until the wreath is no longer visible. 5. Take the fourth strip of 2.5” fabric to make a ribbon to hang the wreath. If you’d like, you can use regular ribbon instead!
What You’ll Need: – scrapbook paper – glue – scissors – matchboxes – decorative pieces of your choice (ribbons, card stock, stickers, etc.) Once you have all your materials, simple cover the matchboxes with scrapbook papers and embellish them! Fill them with candy, stickers, or anything that’ll fit!
What You’ll Need: – glass bottle charms with cork stopper – heart-shaped confetti – “Love” heart charms – David Tutera Celebrate White Decorative Tags & Twine Set (or you can create your own) – white cardstock or copy paper – red or pink Sharpie – scissors Simply cut strips of cardstock paper to the height of the bottle and add a message with a red or pink Sharpie. Sprinkle in some confetti hearts, add the stopper, then use twine to add the tags and heart charms.
What You’ll Need: – ¾ cup coconut oil – ¼ cup sweet almond oil – ½ cup powdered strawberries (about 1½ cups freeze dried strawberries, ground) – 2 cups granulated sugar If you’d like, include 4 tsp strawberry extract. 1. Use a stand mixer to whip the coconut oil for a good 5 minutes. 2. Add in the sweet almond oil and beat. 3. Grind freeze dried strawberries so that you have ½ cup power. 4. Whisk and sift the granulated sugar and powdered strawberries in a separate bowl. 5. Carefully stir half of the sugar mixture into the coconut oil mixture. Then, add in the second half. For that little extra something, mix in some strawberry extract!
What You’ll Need: – thick, heavy stock paper – scissors – pencil – A good reaser – embroidery thread – embroidery needle – glue (for making the envelopes) Follow the instructions below!
