As a maker, giving a handmade gift is one of my favorite things to do. It’s so much fun to think about the person while you are making and deliver something that only you can give. However, it can be tricky to walk the fine line between handprint art that you’ll only put out when the gifter comes over, and something handmade that the recipient will actually enjoy. Plus, if you’re giving a handmade Valentine gift, you want the giftee to feel the love and not feel like they would have preferred a gift card. So, here at the PLG, we have curated a list of our favorite handmade love day projects that are sure to make your Valentine’s Day, and you’ll have a blast making them. Let’s do it!
1. DIY Valentine’s Day Wall Hanging + Free Template!
This Valentine’s Day Wall Hanging is the perfect beginner embroidery project and the perfect handmade Valentine gift. In fact, it was Sam’s first embroidery project ever, which proves that you don’t need any expertise to do something like this. It was simple (and therapeutic), and if we can do it, anyone can.
2. DIY Iron-On Valentine Sweatshirt
We already love putting hearts on everything every day of the year, so when Valentine’s Day comes around – a holiday that accepts this as a standard – we embrace it wholeHEARTedly. This DIY Iron-On Valentine Sweatshirt is one of our original Valentine DIYs, but we love it just as much year after year.
3. DIY I Love You Mugs
These DIY I Love You Mugs are perfect for gifting for Valentine’s, Galentine’s, or really any day of the year! Just a mug, some cut vinyl, and dishwasher-safe Mod Podge, and you’ve got the cutest mugs for anyone who could use some extra love in their life!
4. DIY Valentine’s Clutch
The extra shimmer from foil heat transfer vinyl makes this DIY Valentine’s Clutch extra sassy and just right for gifting to the gals in your life! We’ll give you all the tips for making them in this step by step tutorial on how to apply foil Heat Transfer Vinyl on a patent leather clutch.
5. DIY Hand-Painted Clay Heart Necklaces
These DIY Hand-Painted Clay Heart Necklaces are the perfect DIY project! You can whip up a bunch of these little hearts charms in almost no time and use them for all sorts of Valentines crafts!
6. DIY Vinyl Heart Candles
These DIY Vinyl Heart Candles are cheap and SO easy to make! Give them out as gifts by adding a festive tag, or use them to add ambience to a Valentine dinner at home! Click to see how we made them.
7. DIY Needle Felted Heart Shoes
This project combines three of our greatest loves – shoes, crafts, and hearts! These DIY Needle Felted Heart Shoes are really fun to make, come together in no time, and I mean, look at them! The cutest! Click for the tutorial.
8. DIY Valentine Wreath with Paper Flowers
Everyone loves a festive wreath to hang on the door, so what could be better than getting one as a handmade Valentine gift!? This darling DIY Valentine Wreath with Paper Flowers can be whipped up in an afternoon, and is a beautiful piece of Valentine art.
9. Monogram DIY Valentine Mugs with Vinyl
We love making mugs and we love giving them as gifts because they are so cute and useful. This version is a favorite that is super easy and inexpensive to make for the perfect little personal Valentine’s Day gift. Click for the tutorial!
10. DIY Heart-Patterned Pom Pom Beanie
This DIY Heart-Patterned Stitched Pom Pom Beanie was another one of those projects that came about in an effort to brighten and survive January. Can you think of a better combo than hearts, bright colors, and pom poms to add some cheer during the darkest days of winter?
11. Valentine’s Day Wall Banner
We love the personal touch hand-lettering gives to this DIY Valentine’s Day Wall Banner, and the process of transforming hand-written wording into a cut file for vinyl is SUPER easy. Click to see how we did it!
12. DIY Heart Patterned Jeans
These heart-print jeans were inspired by a pair over at Anthropologie that were originally $198. They were so cute, but we knew we could recreate for MUCH less, and these DIY Heart Patterned Jeans were born. They were super quick to make (completed the whole process during nap time), and so cheap (under $8, including the jeans).
13. DIY Embroidered Photos
These DIY Embroidered Photos add so much personality to my house AND were the funnest to work on. Using simple stitches (I’m no pro when it comes to embroidery) with fun colors brought these pictures to life! Click to see the full tutorial!
14. DIY Stitched Notebooks
This project, originally created for back-to-school, would make the sweetest Valentine gift! We always love a good notebook, and the cuteness of these DIY Stitched Notebooks can’t be beat.
15. DIY Hexagon Tile Heart Art
Next time you’re wandering around the hardware store and find yourself staring at sheets of hexagon backsplash tiles, get some and make this project! The result was this adorable and easy DIY Hexagon Tile Heart Art, that is so fun to make and soooo cute!
Have you given or received a handmade Valentine gift that you loved? Share in the comments!
Happy gifting!
xo, Liz & Sam