10 Great Valentine's Day Gifts

 Here's a little list of 10 Valentine's Day gifts that you can find or make (or a combination of the two). All links go directly to Amazon in case you need supplies or want to find a pattern I used.

1. Handmade Necklace Charm

Trace a little rectangle three times onto fabric (felt works best), cut them out, and then cut one rectangle in half (Discard one of the halves.). Sew decorations to the front of one piece for the front of the charm, then cut a rectangle of cardboard smaller than the felt rectangles. Now, make a sandwich in this order: short fabric piece, normal felt rectangle, cardboard, a piece of ribbon folded into a loop, and then the decorated rectangle. Sew around the edges of the fabric, being careful not to sew into the cardboard. When you're finished, it should be a sturdy charm with a loop for hanging and a pocket on the back for tucking a little note or picture into. (This idea came from the book Microcrafts.)

2. Handmade Infinity Bracelet

You can make the bracelet however you want, but to make the infinity, follow these directions: Cut a piece of wire, preferably thin wire and in a color you like, into a length between three to five inches, depending on what size you want the infinity. Guess where the middle is, then mentally split the wire into quarter lengths. Then, judging on the outside 1/4s, grasp somewhere closer to the center than the outermost quarter "lines" and fold it in on itself into a gentle, 180-degree curve. Twist the ends together like shown in the picture, then add to any bracelet however you like.

3. Handmade Wire Bracelet

Take a good long piece of wire and wind it around in a circle bigger than the wrist it's meant for. Take the ends of the wire and bend into a sharp angle, almost 180 degrees. Twist the end of one of the bends onto the long end of the wire to create a loop for the other end of the wire to clasp into. Thread beads and shank buttons onto the wire and let them slide around. Then, if you want to keep the various levels of wire together, wrap a thin red ribbon around the part of the bracelet farthest from the closure and tie knots at both ends. (I made my bracelet with an old guitar string.) 

4. Flowers

This is quite self-explanatory, but I have one caution: Never give someone cut flowers. Live flowers or fake flowers are good gifts because they can last literally forever. Cut flowers are a lovely gift if you want to give your friend or significant other something that has literally been dying since the stem was cut. A flower that will inevitably slowly die is not an optimal gift. A stuffed animal is a cute option, too.

5. Handmade Clay Animal

Foxes or other red animals are especially cute. Find directions online or in a book for the animal you want to make. I made a fox, which you can see below.

6. Heart locket

Find one online or in a store. Just make sure that's something they like...if you get someone a heart locket and they absolutely despise necklaces, that's not a prime situation for either of you.

7. Valentine's Notepad

Everybody needs to write stuff down. This is a seriously underrated gift. Give them a Valentine's themed notepad and a pack of pens or pencils. (Bonus points if those are Valentine's themed, too. But don't go overboard.)

8. Glitter Pencil

This one's pretty easy. Just take a pencil, preferably new, and paint it all over with glitter nail polish. Do this outside if you value your nose and your house's not-chemically smell. Let the polish dry, then sharpen the pencil or leave it unsharpened, whatever you want.

9. Mini Handmade Cards

To start, you need to decide a size for the finished card. It can honestly be whatever you want. (To make an envelope, find a pattern online and scale to your card size.) To make the card, cut out a rectangle in the size you want height-wise and double the size you want widthwise. Fold the card in half to make it actually a card and not a postcard (you could do that instead, though). Measure 1/4 of an inch (about 6 mm) or so from the edges on the front to create a border. Paste a nice background paper in the border. Scrapbook paper works well, or old magazine clippings. Cut out some shapes for the foreground. Hearts work well (duh), as do balloons or things like that. You can also look at mine for ideas.

(This idea came from the book Microcrafts. Worth checking out!)

10. Handmade Mini Stuffed Animals

Who doesn't like stuffed animals? And if you made it yourself, it's even better. Find a small stuffed animal pattern online, trace it onto fabric (again, felt works best for small things because it doesn't fray), and cut out the pieces. Sew them together neatly, leaving a small gap. Stuff stuffing into the animal with a pencil and sew up the rest. Embroider facial features or draw them on with permanent or fabric markers. (The dog pattern also came from Microcrafts.)

Tell me what you made!

Baby Girl