As Valentines Day gets closer, you're probably wondering "what should I do/get for my significant other??" As a serious procrastinator, I was always scrambling last minute to try to put something together for my SO. I don't really have the money or transportation to get anything extravagant, so I usually resort to getting creative and using my many arts & crafts supplies to make something loving and unique. If you're also looking for some unique and cute ideas for your loved one, instead of the usual "flowers and chocolates", then you've come to the right place!
Deck of Love: 52 Reasons Why I Love You
Sounds pretty corny, but trust me, your significant other is going to love it. You take any deck of cards you find around your house - or you can buy a new box from the store if you prefer - and just write on each one a reason why you love your SO. Pretty simple, right? You can decorate it however you like, you can even hole-punch the cards and make a little book out of it if you want to! However you decide to do it, just as long as you're sincere and genuine, you can't go wrong.
Love Coupons
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I created 12 diverse cards that I knew my loved one would absolutely enjoy. I decorated each one the same, and turned them into a small book. |
You can find premade coupons just about anywhere this time of year. While those are always great, I think it just means more if you hand-make them yourself. This way, you can personalize it specifically to your loved one, plus it's super fun to get creative!
Photo Collage
I absolutely adore photo collages. There are plenty of apps you can use if you want to create your collage this way. Then if you want to print it, you can go to your local CVS or Walgreens and pay a small fee to have it printed any way you want. You could even turn it into a poster if you wanted. Or if you already have pictures at your disposal then you can create a collage the old fashioned way. You can use your own printer at home, and print out any photos, quotes, etc. that you want. Then, figure out how you're going to place them, and glue them to poster board, cardboard, or anything sturdy that will hold your photos. This is a pretty easy yet thoughtful gift idea, especially if you already have a bunch of photos laying around.
"Punny" Love Cards
These are so much fun to do. All they require is some cardstock and really anything you're using to decorate. You can turn them into actual cards with sayings on the inside, or you can keep them like a trading card with just the "punny" quote on one side. If you're trying to think of sayings to use, here are a few examples to get you started:
"You're my significant OTTER."- with a picture of otters.
"I love you a LATTE." - with a picture of a coffee cup.
"You're my BUTTER half." - with a picture of butter and bread.
"I love you BERRY much." - with a picture of strawberries, blueberries, etc.
"OWL always love you." - with a picture of owls.
The list goes on and on. Use any quotes you feel are significant to you and your partner. Not only will they show how much you love them, but they'll also get a good laugh out of it.
Love Lottery
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I created my own scratch-off and gave my significant other a lucky penny that had his birth year on it to scratch off with. (After doing it, I changed the wins from only "1 free" to "unlimited" because it seemed better to me) |
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Surprisingly this is very simple to do, and works amazingly when you're done. All it takes to do your own scratch-off is to decorate the underpart (the "prizes" you see when you scratch it off), place clear tape over top of it (clear packing tape works really well), and paint on top of the clear tape with a paint and soap mixture. To make the mixture is really easy, all you do is mix equal parts dish soap and any color acrylic paint you choose, and voila! You have yourself an adorable love lottery.
Write a Poem
If you're a writer, or consider yourself to be pretty good in the poetry department, then why not write your loved one a poem? It might sound super cheesy, but that's what Valentines Day is all about! Showing your significant other just how much you love them with corny, sickly sweet gifts or thoughtful actions. Almost everyone enjoys poems and getting a love poem from your partner just makes it 100x better.
Decorate a Picture Frame
Find a really nice picture of you and your significant other. Figure out the sizing and pick the picture frame that fits the picture you've chosen. There are plenty of places that sell inexpensive picture frames you can use as a base for decorating: dollar stores, thrift stores, and some second hand stores. Once you have your frame, just decorate to your hearts content!
If you're having trouble thinking of what to do, here are some ideas on how you could decorate the frame:
Decoden- If you have silicon or whip and some cabochons or charms, you can use these to decorate. Just pipe the whip all along your frame and stick on your cabochons. It takes a little practice to get it just right, but there are plenty of tutorials all over the internet if you need assistance. Plus it just looks absolutely adorable when finished.
Paint, Sticker, & Paper- If you're not ready for or don't have the supplies to do decoden, then you can just stick with the basics. You can paint the frame however you like using acrylic paints or even spray-paint if you have it. Then if you feel necessary, you can add stickers, ribbons, letters and text, bows, rhinestones, fabric, glitter, and anything else you have around or would like to use.
If you don't have much around to decorate with, you can always check out craft stores such as Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, or even Hobby Lobby. They usually have good deals and are not too expensive.
Scrapbook
If you're looking to do a scrapbook, I'll tell you, it definitely takes A LOT of work, depending on how much effort you put into it. But when finished, they do look fantastic, and you can always save pages in the back to add more to it later if you want. You can find scrapbooks practically anywhere, all you really need is the pictures you want to use and some decorative supplies.
If you're wondering how to separate the pages or how to theme each page, here are some ideas:
Holiday- You can have a page about spending any sort of holiday together, such as a birthday, Christmas, Halloween, an anniversary, or anything that you two celebrated while being a couple.
Everyday- This can just be a page about what you both do on a day-to-day basis. Like if you both enjoy watching movies, or doing game nights with friends, playing video games together, drawing, writing, etc.
Activity- This is a page you can use if you and your partner tried something new together such as sky-diving, boating, surfing, or even taking a class together. Anything that you can think of where you both participated in a fun, new experience together.
Trip- You can use a page like this if, lets say, you guys went to Disney Land, Universal, a concert, a festival, Lego Land, etc. Any special trip where you and your loved one had a good time.
Really you can use anything you feel was a significant moment in your relationship together. Just have fun with it and make sure to find stickers and paper that go with your particular theme. Happy Scrap-booking!
Jar of Candy
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I cleaned and decorated an old jar of pasta sauce we had, filled it with his favorite candy (Swedish Fish), and attached a cute little card that says, "You're a great CATCH!" |
If your significant other loves candy, instead of just handing them the bag, try giving it to them in a beautiful, decorated jar! You can make it as pretty or as "punny" as you want. Figure out what their favorite candy is, find and clean a good-sized jar, decorate it, then just fill it up with the candy. Simple as that!
Draw Something
If you're artsy or love to draw, try drawing a cute picture of you together. I'm sure plenty of you are saying, "well, I can't draw.." right now, but I bet you that you can, and even if you can't, I'm sure your significant other doesn't care. As corny as it sounds, it's the thought that counts. I've drawn lovey dovey pictures for my partner all the time, and even though I always think it looks awful, he tells me how much he loves it every time. So whether you're a top-notch artist or an amateur, anyone would love an adorably picture drawn by their loved one.
Exploding Box
When I found this idea, I thought it was just so cool. I haven't yet tried it for myself, but if you have the chance, you totally should. All it requires is a small box with a lid, paper, pictures, and a box cutter or other cutting device. Just cut the corners of the box, add some folded papers in the middle to add some extra "explosion", stick on your pictures or write notes, and then just close the sides and put the lid on it. Then when they go to open the box, it explodes open with photos and love notes. Or if you want it to be a little more elaborate, you can check out amazing exploding box DIYs all over Youtube until you find the tutorial that's right for you.
Make a Video
If you're video-savvy and enjoy filming, editing, etc. then make your loved one a video. If you have clips or videos of you both doing cute things (such as playing games together, shopping together, generally anything you'd put in a vlog) then edit them together with some sweet, romantic music playing in the background, and give it to your sweetheart. I'm sure they'll love reliving the memories and want to keep the film forever.
Create a Playlist/CD
If you and your loved one enjoy music, create a playlist or burn a CD for them. You can fill it with a bunch of romantic, "lovey dovey" songs to be adorably corny, or you can make a playlist of the songs they really enjoy. Either way, you can't really go wrong, and any music-lover would just absolutely adore this present. (Especially if it came from someone they love dearly.)
Make Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
If you don't think any of this creative, artsy stuff is your forté, then you can always do something nice and romantic such as making them food. Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, everybody loves food, especially if it's their favorite. Figure out what their favorite meal is and go from there. Learn the best ways to make it and try not to burn or spoil anything (although if you're not cooking-savvy either, I'm sure your partner will still love that you tried so hard for them).
And if you'd like, you can even prepare the food to look more romantic, such as shaping things into hearts (like cooking eggs or pancakes into a heart shape, or even using a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make cookies, burgers, sandwiches, you name it!). If your loved one happens to be a foody, this gift will probably be one of the best gifts you could ever give them.
Something Special Just for Them <3
Now if none of these seem to be working for you, you can always just try thinking of a specific thing you're loved one is a fan of. My significant other is a big fan of Pokemon and Naruto, so I usually try making gifts based around those things. I once made him his very own Poke-Ball that I created and painted myself. I put a little figurine of his favorite Pokemon, Mudkip, inside of it with a little love note. He absolutely adored it. So just think of something that they're really passionate about or enjoy and build around that.
Did you find this helpful?
Let me know if there was anything I missed, or if you have anymore good ideas that I didn't think of. (✿◠‿◠)