Living February 11, 2016

Three Projects, Three Ways: Valentine’s Gifts for Your Loved Ones

 

Love it, or hate it, Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! If you want to create a thoughtful gift for a loved one (or for yourself because you TOTALLY deserve it), try one of these easy, inexpensive, do-it-yourself Valentine’s Day ideas!

Three-dimensional flower art:

The ladies at “A Beautiful Mess” have amazing craft ideas, so we decided to try out their flower collage. The results are so fun!

Supply list:

A favorite family picture- blown up to 5*7 or larger

Fabric flowers; you can find these at a local craft store. For a fun touch, pick up some fabric butterflies too

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

A shadow box or a picture frame with the glass popped out

Directions:

Let inspiration be your guide; mock up your design before breaking out the glue gun

Glue flowers around the frame

Let the glue dry and then display your work of art!

Difficulty level: 1

A heart shaped picture collage:

Do you have so many favorite photos that you can’t pick just one? Are you an Instagram addict? Then this fun project is for you. You can use as many pictures as your frame will fit.

Supply list:

A picture frame

A piece of cardstock or paper cut to fit your frame

Cardstock cut into a stencil heart shape

A pile of your favorite photos

Scissors

Craft glue or scrapbooking adhesive

Fancy accent paper (optional)

 

Directions:

Decide the quantity of photographs you want to display

Arrange your photos on your blank sheet to determine the best placement

Cut each photo into the same size heart (use a stencil heart or heart shaped paper punch for this)

Arrange your pictures on the card stock

If you want to add some dimension, cut out hearts from the fancy accent paper to display behind your photos

Once everything is exactly how you like it, glue it all down

Let everything dry and finish by adding your frame!

Difficulty level: 2

The writing’s on the wall

Do you have a favorite quote about love? Make a modern wall hanging with some simple tools and your favorite words!

Supply list:

A wood frame for stretching canvas (can be found online or your local craft store)

Dark denim (enough to fit over canvas with a couple of extra inches all around)

A white fabric pencil

White fabric paint

Small acrylic paint brushes (with stiff bristles)

Masking tape

A staple gun and staples

A printed template of your favorite quote, as you would like to see it displayed

A window with natural light

Directions:

Tape your printed quote to a window with natural light shining through

Tape your fabric swatch over your template, and position the image/text in the middle of your fabric swatch (dark side facing you)

Using the white pencil, trace the quote and/or image clearly on your dark fabric

Once done, remove your fabric from the window and tape to a flat surface like a desk or table

Use the paint brush and white fabric paint to trace over your white sketches to make your text and/or image visible

Let your masterpiece dry for a few hours (amount of time varies based on the thickness of the applied paint)

Position your fabric over your wooded canvas frame. Make sure the placement is straight and where you want it

Hold your fabric in place over the frame and staple the sides to the back of the wooden frame, checking to make sure your image on the front is straight and the fabric is taught on the frame

If the fabric on the back of your frame is too long, you may want to consider trimming so it doesn’t peek out when the frame is hung on the wall

Find the perfect spot to hang your masterpiece or the perfect person to gift it to!

Difficultly level: 3

Happy Valentine’s Day!