Don’t let the wintry mix of cold slush ruin your Valentine’s day. The best gifts are made with your own two hands… Take advantage of being stuck inside and break out the craft supplies. If baking is your forte or you feel like channeling your inner Picasso, these simple DIY Valentine gifts are guaranteed to shine a little warmth into your home today.
Framed Valentine Art
Frame Your Love with this free printable (print on photo paper and frame) or try one of the simple crafts. Use different shades of pink and red card stock and cut out heart shapes. Arrange the hearts to look like a bouquet of balloons on a plain piece of white paper. Cut thin string and glue one end to the bottom of heart shape balloons. Gather the other end of the strings to the bottom center of the paper and glue together. Top off with a simple bow around the base of the strings. Once dry, place your masterpiece in a frame.
Brighten up a wall with love. Start with four plain art canvas boards (We used 6 X 6 squares). Next use different craft supplies for each canvas. We used loose buttons, colored mini pom poms, glitter & glue and a heart shaped doily. Trace a heart shape (or the letters L, O, V, E) on each canvas. One at a time, add the glue to the canvas and apply the craft supplies before the glue begins to dry. We used elmer’s glue but a hot glue gun will work faster.
Popping with Love Popcorn
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 1-2 bags of microwave popcorn (lightly salted or kettle corn
- Sprinkles (Red, pink, white)
- Valentine’s Day M & M’s (we used a mix of chocolate and peanut)
- Heart shaped edible confetti
Pop the popcorn according to the directions on the bag. Let sit for a few minutes to cool and transfer into a mixing bowl. Remove unpopped kernels from the bowl. In a saucepan, heat butter until melted. Quickly add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until completely melted. Remove from heat and drizzle over the popcorn, using a wooden spoon or spatula to fold the mixture until popcorn is well coated. While the popcorn is still warm mold into balls and roll ih the chocolate and candy mix. Place each ball in a cellophane candy bag and tie with a red or pink ribbon.
Tip: For an easier method, lay a sheet of wax paper down on the counter and press popcorn mixture flat, like you were making rice crispy treats. Sprinkle the chocolate and candy over the top immediately after. Cut in squares and wrap in candy bags.
Heart Shaped Bath Bombs
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1/2 cup Epsom salts (fine: place in blender and pulse)
- 1 tsp. water
- 2 tsp. essential oil
- 3 tsp. oil (coconut or jojoba oil)
- food coloring (any color you want)
- Witch Hazel in a Spray bottle
- Heart shaped mold
Use a mesh strainer to sift baking soda, citric acid and fine Epsom salts over a large bowl. Make sure there are no lumps in the dry mix. Stir the mixture until well blended. Next, slowly add your choice of oil (we used coconut but jojoba and olive oil work great too) to the dry mixture. Add your favorite essential oil (at least 2 teaspoons) and food coloring. Put a pair of vinyl or latex gloves on to mix the oils and food coloring into the dry mixture, until it’s the perfect shade of red or pink.
Use a spray bottle filled with witch hazel, one spritz at a time, to get the bath bomb mixture to stick together when squeezed. Note: You do not want a crumbling consistency. The mix is supposed to stick together when squeezed, however, be careful not to make it too wet or the bath bomb will start fizzing up. Pack the mixture tightly into the heart shape molds, packing as much of the mix as possible into each mold. Let dry for several hours, or overnight for best results. Remove the bath bombs from the molds (they will be very hard) Wrap bath bombs first in plastic wrap and place them in a gift bag or box with your Valentine Card attached.