One year I cut a giant Valentine’s love bus out of matte board to hold a single gift card, and I was still working on it at four in the morning. I am not suggesting you do that. I am suggesting that a handmade Valentine’s gift lands differently than a bought one, and most of these easy DIY Valentine’s Day gifts take an evening, not an all nighter. There are leather keychains, hand drawn mugs, wire wrapped necklaces, sachets, candy jars, a dry erase message board, wall art, a secret message puzzle and a quilt if you want a real project. Perfect for a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or wife, your mom and dad, teachers, coworkers, or the friend who says every year that she does not want anything. Start with what you already have, because half of these are made from scraps, paper and things in the kitchen drawer. The other half will cost you one trip and about ten dollars!
1. DIY Leather Conversation Hearts
We love conversation hearts, vintage and sweet as they are. This updated take on our favorite tried and true Valentine treat is also super nice, though. Stamp out special words for that super special someone and make their Valentine’s Day the best ever.
Get the full tutorial at Polka Dot Chair.
2. DIY Fabric Heart Valentines
These sweet little DIY sachets are the perfect tiny Valentine’s gift you can give to all those special friends who deserve a handmade gift from you. Adorable for year-round use, you can scent these to your liking and decorate with your favorite leftover fabrics and trim. A project easy enough for those who don’t really sew, we highly recommend this craft even beginners will love.
Get the full tutorial at Flamingo Toes.
3. Pink And Red Candy Box
Candy. Candy. Candy. I want candy. If you can’t think of any better way to show your love than candy, you will not go wrong. Design a super creative and cool looking candy box, though, with this adorably easy DIY idea. Make your Valentine smile all day long when you give this sweet candy box with all their favorites chocolates and colorful treats.
Get the full tutorial at Pink Peppermint Design.
Easy DIY Nail Polish Paintings
Learn how to make quick works of art, no artistic skills required. All you need is nail polish, water and a blank canvas. Check out the video to learn how to make some for yourself.
4. Light Of My Life Lamp
Love is in the air, and make sure they know it. If you found that special someone who is the ‘light of your life’ then why not just come right out and say it? Make this creative and cool DIY to do just that and have your love say ‘Wow!’
Get the full tutorial at Blue Eyed Yonder.
5. DIY Mason Jar Valentine Gift
When the occasion calls for sweet and cute, could a mason jar be any better? Create an adorable way to give candy or other tiny Valentine’s Day treats with this hand decorated mini mason jar.
Get the full tutorial at Happy Hour Projects.
6. DIY Beaded Charm Bracelet
Need a pretty but easy idea for her? Whether you need a gift for your girlfriend, BFF, wife or daughter, this charm bracelet is the perfect way to say ‘I love you’ in style.
Get the full tutorial at Golden Age Beads.
7. Hugs And Kisses Mason Jar Gift
Chocolate kisses in a jar with a printable label, which is the reliable five minute gift that never misses. It works because the label does the design work and you do the filling. Print on sticker paper if you can, since a taped on label always looks taped on. Make six at a time and you are covered for the whole week.
Get the full tutorial at The Happier Homemaker.
8. Message In A Bottle Key Chain
A tiny rolled note sealed inside a glass vial on a keyring, so they carry the message around without anybody else knowing it is there. Write on thin paper and roll it tightly around a toothpick to get it through the neck. Seal the cork with a drop of glue or it will work loose in a pocket within a week.
Get the full tutorial at Shrimp Salad Circus.
9. My Life Would Succ Without You
A succulent with a pun tag, which is the gift for the person who kills every plant they are given. Succulents forgive neglect better than anything else on a windowsill. Pot it in something with a drainage hole and use cactus soil rather than regular potting mix, because that is the difference between a gift and a slow tragedy.
Get the full tutorial at See Kate Sew.
10. Simple Painted Glass Jars
Painted from the inside, which is why these look smooth and solid instead of brush streaked. Pour a little paint in, turn the jar until the whole inside is coated, then stand it upside down on paper to drain. Give them days to cure rather than hours. Inside painted jars are not for water, so use them for brushes, flowers in a liner, or candy.
Get the full tutorial at Just A Girl And Her Blog.
11. DIY Valentines Day Gifts
A whole set of handmade Valentine gift ideas in one place, which is where to go if nothing on this list has claimed you yet. My advice is to pick by how much time you actually have tonight rather than by which photo you like best, because the prettiest project is usually the one that needs two evenings. See the full set of ideas on DIY JOY.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
12. Heart Scribble Mug
Scribble a heart onto a plain mug and bake it so it stays. Oil marker or a proper porcelain pen beats a regular Sharpie, which fades in the dishwasher no matter what the internet promises. Bake according to the pen instructions, let the mug cool in the oven rather than pulling it out hot, and hand wash the first few times.
Get the full tutorial at Messy Little Monster.
13. DIY Wire Wrapped Heart Necklace
Wire bent into a heart and wrapped, and the whole thing lives or dies on the wire. Use a soft craft wire in copper or silver plate, not the stiff hardware store kind, because soft wire takes a curve without kinking. Work over a drawn heart template so both halves match. Fifteen minutes, and it looks like it came from a market stall.
Get the full tutorial at Happy Hour Projects.
14. Things I Know About You Book
A little handmade book, one thing you know about them on every page, and it will be read more times than anything else you could buy. Keep the entries specific and small, how they take their coffee, what they say when they are nervous. Generic compliments are forgettable. Twenty pages is plenty, and the binding can be as simple as a stitch down the fold.
Get the full tutorial at Transcraftinental.
15. Wishlist Jar
A jar of dates and small things you want to do together, pulled out one at a time through the year. This is the gift for a couple who have everything and want more time instead. Write a mix of five minute ideas and big ones, so a Tuesday night pull is still doable. Fold them all the same way so nobody can peek and choose.
Get the full tutorial at Paper Vine.
16. Valentines Bookmark
A handmade bookmark is the small gift that never feels cheap, and it is the right answer for teachers, book club and anybody who reads in bed. Laminate it or back it with cardstock so it survives being shut in a book all year. Add a ribbon tail long enough to find without opening the book.
Get the full tutorial at Paper Vine.
17. Blushing Marshmallow Valentine Gift
Marshmallows dipped and decorated so they blush pink, packaged up as a gift. Let the chocolate set at room temperature rather than in the refrigerator, because cold sets it too fast and you get that dull gray bloom on the surface. Sprinkles go on while the chocolate is still wet. Bag them the same day, as marshmallows go stale fast once opened.
Get the full tutorial at Smart School House.
18. Candy Tackle Box
A tackle box packed with candy instead of lures, which is a much better joke than it has any right to be and a real gift for a fisherman. Sort the candy by compartment the way tackle actually is, because the joke only lands if it looks organized. The box gets used for its real job afterward, which is the part I like.
Get the full tutorial at Staying Close To Home.
19. Fingerprint Heart Keyring
Two thumbprints pressed into clay to make a heart, baked and strung on a keyring, and grandparents will carry this until it wears out. Press into oven bake clay rather than air dry if you want it to survive a pocket. Punch the hole before baking, not after, because clay that has been in the oven will crack the moment you try.
Get the full tutorial at Messy Little Monster.
20. Easy Valentines Day Wall Art
Free templates, a printer and a frame, which makes this the ten minute gift that still looks considered rather than rushed. Print on heavy matte paper rather than copy paper, because thin copy paper shows every ripple behind glass and gives the whole thing away. A cheap frame with good paper inside beats an expensive frame with thin paper every single time.
Get the full tutorial at Tatertots and Jello.
21. Whale You Be My Valentine
Whale shaped cookies with the pun written on, and this is the classroom gift that makes the parents laugh as well as the kids. Chill the dough properly before you cut or your whales will come out of the oven as blobs. Twenty minutes in the refrigerator between cutting and baking keeps the shape crisp.
Get the full tutorial at Bakerella.
22. Valentines Day Candy Jars
Candy sorted by color into clear jars, and the color sorting is the whole design. Reds in one, pinks in one, whites in one, lined up together. It costs whatever bulk candy costs and looks like a window display. Do not mix, because mixed candy in a jar goes muddy from a distance and the effect disappears.
Get the full tutorial at Eat Move Make.
23. DIY Valentines Day Kitchen Towel
A plain kitchen towel with a stenciled or appliqued heart, which is the useful gift that gets used every day. Prewash the towel before you decorate it so the shrinking happens first and your design does not pull crooked in the first wash. Heat set fabric paint properly and it survives the laundry for years.
Get the full tutorial at My Paper Craze.
24. You And Me On A Tree
Two names carved into a painted tree, which is the sentimental one and there is no shame in that. Keep the tree simple and the trunk thick, because thin painted branches are where these go wrong. A thumbprint heart instead of a carved one is the version to do with a child. It hangs in a hallway for years.
Get the full tutorial at Three Scoops of Love.
25. DIY Leather Heart Keyring
Leather, a heart, a keyring, and about twenty minutes. Leather scraps are cheap from any craft store offcut bin, and a punch gives you a far cleaner hole than scissors ever will. Burnish the cut edges with a damp finger to stop them fuzzing over time. It goes in a pocket, which is more than most Valentine gifts can say.
Get the full tutorial at Love Maegan.
26. DIY Heart Magnets
Small heart magnets for a refrigerator or a locker, and this is the gift to make when you need twenty of something. Use strong neodymium magnets rather than the weak craft ones, because a magnet that will not hold a piece of paper is just a decoration. Glue with something rated for metal and let it cure overnight.
Get the full tutorial at Idlewife.
27. Valentines Day Dominoes
Painted dominoes, either as a game set or drilled and strung as pendants, and both versions are good. As a gift they hit the note most Valentine crafts miss, which is a present you sit down and use with the person. Seal the paint or the pips wear off with handling. Spread them out to dry so nothing sticks together.
Get the full tutorial at Warm Hot Chocolate.
28. DIY Valentine Logs
Small wood log slices with hearts on them, which is the rustic, quiet version of Valentine decor that does not look like Valentine decor. Sand the cut face before you paint or the grain fuzz will drink your paint and blur the edge. Seal the back if it is going on furniture. A stack of three on a shelf is enough.
Get the full tutorial at Petite Modern Life.
29. Cupid Arrows And Quiver
Arrows plus a quiver, so it works as decor and as a photo prop and, if you make the arrows blunt, as a kid’s dress up set. Build the quiver from a cardboard tube wrapped in fabric or paper, and add a strap long enough to go over a shoulder. Keep the arrow tips soft. It gets played with far longer than it gets looked at.
Get the full tutorial at Serendipity Refined.
30. Chocolate Covered Pretzels For Valentines Day
Salt and chocolate, which is the reason these go faster than anything else on a Valentine plate. Melt your chocolate in short bursts and stir between each one, because chocolate seizes the second it gets too hot and there is no coming back from it. Sprinkles go on while it is wet. Make two batches, one to give and one that will not survive the evening.
Get the full tutorial at Love From The Oven.
31. How to Customize a Mug Using Sharpie
A plain ceramic mug, a few Sharpies and a hand drawn letter pattern, and you have a personalized gift for the price of the mug. Initials, a monogram or a short word, built out of a repeating pattern so it looks designed rather than doodled. There is a simple trick in the tutorial for getting crisp clean lines, which is the part everybody gets wrong.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
32. DIY Coffee Body Scrub Recipe
Sugar, coffee grounds, coconut oil, castile soap and vanilla, mixed in a jar you already own. Homemade scrub is one of those gifts that costs about two dollars and reads as far more, and the real appeal is that you know exactly what is in it. Reuse a clean jam jar rather than buying one. Patch test first and check with a doctor if skin is sensitive.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
33. DIY Blueberry Scrub
The same idea in a prettier color, made with a carrier oil rather than an essential oil, which matters: essential oils are concentrated and should never go straight onto skin undiluted, and carrier oils are mild enough to use as they are. Swap the blueberry for whatever scent you like. Use a scrub about once a week, not daily.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
34. Easy Fabric Hearts Sewing Tutorial
Hand sewn fabric hearts, no machine required, using basic stitches. What makes these worth it is how forgiving they are, because a slightly wonky hand stitched heart still looks lovely, and a wonky machine seam never does. Fill one with dried lavender, make small ones as bag charms, or practice embroidery on the front.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
35. DIY Air-Dry Clay Decoupage Jewelry Dish
Air dry clay shaped into a small dish, then decoupaged with a printed napkin or paper so it carries a pattern you chose. It is the gift that sits on a nightstand holding rings for years, which is more than most Valentine gifts manage. Air dry clay is cheap, needs no oven and is genuinely beginner friendly.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
36. Easy Macramé Bracelet | Rose Bracelet
Two cords, a few knots, and a row of little roses. Macramé looks technical from the outside and is really just the same knot repeated until you stop, which makes it a good first knotting project. Tape the ends to the table so you are working against tension instead of chasing the cord around.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
37. How to Make An Origami Heart Bookmark
One square of paper, a flat surface and a few minutes, and you have a bookmark that hugs the corner of the page. Paper folding is my favorite kind of craft because it costs nothing and the only tool is your hands. Make a stack in different papers and give them away.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
