Valentine’s Day is coming up, and it’s time to start thinking about gifts. There are so many great handmade gifts you can make for your friends and family, from heart-shaped sugar scrub bars to adorable keychains. Check out some of our favorite Valentine’s Day DIY projects below!
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Handmade gifts are a great way to show your loved ones you care. |
| 2. Making cards, jewelry, or ornaments can be a fun and creative activity. |
| 3. There are many resources available online to help you get started with making handmade gifts. |
| 4. Personal, handmade gifts can be more meaningful than store-bought ones. |
| 5. Handmade gifts can be a great way to express your own creativity and show your appreciation for the recipient. |
Cute Keychain
If you are looking for a handmade gift that is useful and easy to make, you should consider a keychain. This can be done using recycled materials such as old CDs and DVDs, or even bottle caps.
There are many ways to decorate the keychain so it looks cute, but one of the easiest ways would be to use buttons and beads.
In order to make this cute DIY keychain, you will need:
- A piece of fabric (about 2×2 inches)
- Two pieces of cardboard (any size)
- Paintbrush/sponge brush/cotton swab (optional)
Love Potion Bath Salts
This gift is perfect for the crazy-in-love couple who want to do something special together, like a bath. It’s easy and fun to make with someone you love—just add the salt mixture and some essential oils to a container of water and then pour it into their tub!
You’ll need:
- 1/2 cup Epsom salts
- 1/2 cup sea salt or kosher salt, plus more as needed
A few drops of your favorite essential oil, such as rosemary or lavender (or any other scent that smells good). We used rosemary because it supposedly makes you feel relaxed. You can use up to three drops per quart of water if you want your bath experience to be extra relaxing. If you don’t have any essential oils on hand, don’t worry—you can still make this gift without them!
Card making is a beautiful craft to create handmade gifts with a personal touch. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our Ultimate Guide to Card Making that covers tips, tricks, and techniques to make your next card project special.
Sweet And Tangy V-Day Brittle
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water (or more, depending on consistency)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or one whole bean pod)
How to make it:
Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir every couple minutes until mixture starts to bubble and thicken, about 8-10 minutes total. Let cool on a baking sheet before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer!
All Natural Rose Petal Soap
Making your own rose petal soap or bath bomb is a great way to show someone you care on Valentine’s Day.
It also makes a wonderful gift if you want to say “I love you” but are short on time, as the process takes less than an hour from start to finish.
To make this Valentine’s Day soapy goody, all that’s needed is some rose petals (you can buy them fresh, or dried), liquid castile soap, vegetable glycerin and water. If you don’t have any rose petals handy and still want to give it a try, feel free to substitute with other fragrant flowers like lavender or jasmine instead!
Once your ingredients are gathered together in an appropriate container (a mason jar works well), just follow these easy steps:
Jewelry making is a creative craft that can help you make unique gifts for your loved ones. Our guide on DIY Jewelry Making: Tips and Tricks is a great resource for beginners looking to get started in this versatile craft.
Heart Shaped Earrings
Beads: You can use any kind of shape bead to make these earrings. If you don’t have heart shaped beads, you can always use a pair of scissors to cut them out from some other shape.
Jump Rings: The jump rings should be large enough to fit your earring hooks. They also need to be long enough so that they reach all the way through the beads and then around the earring hook. If they are too long and left open at either end, it will create an ugly gap between where the beads meet when worn on your ears.
Valentine’s Day Sugar Scrub Recipe
Valentine’s Day Sugar Scrub Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 2 tbsp of honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp of olive oil or almond oil (optional)
10 drops of essential oils – I used Grapefruit, Ylang Ylang, and Lavender. You can use any flavor combination you want! Or just plain lavender if you’re feeling fancy. How to Make It: 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until it looks like the consistency of wet sand.
Add more brown sugar if needed so that it’s not too runny. 2. Pour out onto a plate or container and store in an airtight container for up to 1 month! What To Do With It: Massage into skin for 20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water; use as a gentle exfoliator on feet or legs after shaving; add a scoopful to your bath water for an indulgent soak!
Want to get started making your own handmade jewelry but not sure where to start? Our 10 Easy DIY Jewelry Projects for Beginners is a great introduction to some basic techniques and fun jewelry projects you can try.
Heart Embroidered Necklace
Materials:
- Silk thread or embroidery floss (3 colors if you want to do color blocking)
- Scissors
- Sewing needle (for sewing the beads on)
- Jump ring(s), chain, clasp and extension chain as desired
Instructions:
Cut a piece of thread and tie a small knot at one end. Thread the other end through your needle, then use this to sew beads onto your heart pendant with running stitch (aka blanket stitch). Once done, cut off excess thread with sharp scissors and finish off by tying another small knot in the end. Repeat until you have an entire necklace’s worth of hearts!
Love You Macarons
Macarons are delicious, and they’re also easy to make. They’re a great gift for Valentine’s Day because they can be decorated with sprinkles or edible glitter (think: gold hearts!).
Just follow these steps:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Grease two baking sheets with butter or cooking spray; then line each sheet with parchment paper. This will help the macarons hold their shape during baking.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form when you lift up your whisk (about 5 minutes). Once ready, add in sugar slowly while beating continuously until thick and glossy (about 10 minutes). Add vanilla extract at this point if desired; beat an additional minute for good measure so that it incorporates evenly into the mixture of ingredients before moving onto step three below – which just so happens to be where things get exciting!
DIY Chocolate Lollipops with Hidden Painted Messages
If you’re looking for a way to express your love that’s both sweet and adorable, look no further. These lollipops make the perfect gift for someone special, and they’re super easy to make.
Start by melting chocolate chips in the microwave or on low heat on the stovetop. Once melted, roll out about 1/4 inch of candy melts into a long rectangle shape.
Place it onto waxed paper and let cool slightly so it firms up some (but not too much—you don’t want to get any cracks).
Then use an icing bag fitted with a tip of your choice to pipe messages onto each rectangle; texturize them by pressing down as you go along.
If needed, use an extra bit of melted chocolate as glue to attach two together when piping out one side is completed you’ll want two separate surfaces so that message will show through while still letting light shine through from behind!
Lastly, let both sides set completely before removing from baking sheets; once done, stick them into ice cube trays or other makeshift holders until ready to serve!
Making your own handmade ornaments is a great holiday tradition that you and your family can enjoy together. Check out our guide on New Year, New Crafts: How to Make Your Own Ornaments for some festive ideas and inspiration.
Strawberry Lemonade Valentine Sugar Scrub Bars
You will need:
- 2 cups of sugar (I used white)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- powdered or grated zest from one lemon (or two teaspoons of orange extract)
- optional: food coloring if you want to color it like my Valentine’s Day version below!
Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Press into an 8×8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing into squares and removing from the pan. Keep stored in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 1/2 cup |
| Sweet almond oil | 1/4 cup |
| Shea butter | 1/4 cup |
| Granulated sugar | 1 cup |
| Lemon essential oil | 10-12 drops |
| Strawberry fragrance oil | 10-12 drops |
| Soap colorant | as desired |
These Strawberry Lemonade Valentine Sugar Scrub Bars are perfect for pampering your skin and make a great gift for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Using ingredients like coconut oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter, and granulated sugar, these scrub bars exfoliate and nourish your skin. Lemon essential oil and strawberry fragrance oil give them a refreshing scent, while soap colorant adds a pop of color.
Valentine Tape Resist Artwork
This is a fun and easy way to make a Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetheart. You will be using tape to create the design, then peeling it off to reveal the design.
This can be done on paper or fabric, which means you have endless possibilities! To get started, grab some masking tape and whatever materials you want to use (paper plates work great!). Then just follow these steps:
- Peel off a piece of tape and place it on the object where you would like your design to go
- Place another piece of tape over top of that one in any pattern or shape that you want
- Continue doing so until all sides have been taped up
A handmade gift is a wonderful way to show your mother how much you care. Our guide to Mother’s Day Crafts: Show Your Love with Handmade Gifts offers a range of ideas and tutorials for creating heartfelt gifts that your mother will treasure.
Heart Felt Pillow Covers
What you need: felt, scissors, needle and thread.
How to make it: Cut out a heart shape from the felt and sew with the needle and thread. If you have time on your hands, try sewing different colored hearts together for a more unique look!
Time it takes: A couple hours or less depending on how much of an expert you are at sewing or how many hearts you want to sew together (it’s easier if they’re all the same color).
Cost: $20 dollars or less if you already have all of these materials at home (they’re pretty cheap) and can improvise rather than buying everything new – but there’s no reason why anyone wouldn’t splurge on this project if they’re willing to spend money in order to give their loved ones something special.
There’ll be plenty left over afterwards too because once again – that’s what makes handmade gifts so great!
Conclusion
We hope that we’ve given you some ideas for handmade gifts for Valentine’s Day. Remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on expensive materials often times what matters most is the thought and effort put into making something special.
You can even use recycled or reused materials!
Further Reading
Here are some more resources you might find helpful when creating handmade gifts for Valentine’s Day:
Good Housekeeping: 75+ Homemade Valentine’s Day Gifts That’ll Impress Anyone – This list provides a wealth of creative gift ideas that you can make yourself, with something for everyone on your list.
The Pioneer Woman: 82 DIY Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas That’ll Make Them Feel Loved – From handmade cards to edible treats, this list offers plenty of gift ideas that are perfect for showing your love.
Country Living: 50+ Homemade Valentine’s Day Gifts That Are Straight From the Heart – Whether you prefer to sew, bake, or craft, this list has plenty of gift ideas that are sure to make your Valentine feel special.
FAQs
What are handmade gifts?
Handmade gifts are items that are made by hand instead of mass-produced in a factory. They can include items like crafts, baked goods, and personal creations.
Why make handmade gifts?
Handmade gifts can be more personal and meaningful than store-bought gifts. They allow you to express your creativity and make something that is truly unique for your loved ones.
What are some good Valentine’s Day handmade gift ideas?
Some popular Valentine’s Day handmade gift ideas include handmade cards, baked goods, knitted scarves or hats, DIY jewelry, and personalized photo gifts.
What materials do I need to make handmade gifts?
The materials you’ll need will depend on the type of gift you’re making, but some common materials include paper, fabric, yarn, beads, and food ingredients.
Where can I find ideas for handmade gifts?
There are many online resources available for finding handmade gift ideas, including crafting blogs, Pinterest boards, and online marketplaces like Etsy.
Hellen James is the creator of Unified Crafts and has been crafting since she was a kid accompanied by her mom to the craft store, where she was free to choose whatever ignited her imagination.
