Valentine’s has never been a huge holiday in my life. Sure it was fun as kids when friends showered each other with chocolate and it was a momentous occasion whenever my crush of the moment scrawled his sloppy, grade-school signature on the back of a store-bought card. But as kids our frugal (and equally tech-savvy) mother would insist my brother and I make our Valentine’s Day cards for our classmates. Windows Publisher ‘98 was well worth the investment for her, but I hated having to fold them. I was never that adept at crafts, and somehow the simple of folding a legal sheet of paper four times evenly fell into the realm of “impossible”.
Without sounding catty, I find it to be a glorified holiday should not be indulged. Schools aren’t closed and employees (those who are lucky enough to still have a job) are stuck at their desks on the 14th when applicable. I try not to rain on other people’s parades, though, and generally mark the occasion with something small, inexpensive, and homemade. Because telling your friends that you did what you do every night (nothing) on Valentine’s Day somehow isn’t acceptable.
Last year I baked heart-shaped cookies and carrot muffins for my co-workers; the biggest and best treats given in plentiful quantities to my boyfriend. This year, however, I was at a loss. I don’t have co-workers to bake for and, while my boyfriend would certainly not say no to something sweet, I’ve been baking up a storm recently and would appreciate the break. I also fancy myself somewhat creative, and it just isn’t kosher to do the same thing twice in a row.
This leaves me with quite the predicament! What to do for Valentine’s? I stocked up on Michael’s Craft Store’s Valentine’s inventory a year ago, and managed to dig up something that I might just be able to transform into a gift for my loved one. Inspired by Design*Sponge’s DIY Valentine’s Kit — a link the girls over at McQueen & I pointed out — I decided to put to use an old wooden box and some leftover Christmas tissue to create the greatest gift of them all: thoughtful, homemade, $0. Instructions, materials and more pictures under the cut!
- $4 worth of candy
- Wooden box, bought last year at Micheal’s Craft Store, white tissue paper, red ribbon, Hugo Boss XY cologne sample, box of matches
- Sweetheart candies with silly sayings
- The packaged candy: The middle one was for my Mum (a mix of Caramilk and Sweethearts), which she gobbled up immediately!
What you’ll need:
A box — I got a heart-shaped box at Micheal’s Craft Store
Ribbon
Tissue paper
Plastic baggies
Contents — I spent a walloping $4 on candy he enjoys, but packaged small portions to fit in the box. He’s not a Boss man (Armani is his preferred poison) but I got some Huge Boss samples ages ago and I thought it would be a cute, cheap gift. There’s also a box of matches because, well, I guess some things you just can’t explain in a DIY tutorial.
Lots of feel-good vibes
Instructions
All you need to do is line your box with tissue, fill her up, and wrap it all up with some ribbon! Trust me if I had a bow I would have stuck that on but I didn’t and had to make do with my own abilities. A scary thought, I know. Because I was making it to fit I got some plastic sandwich bags, filled them with portions of the candies and chocolate, and cut off the excess. Then I tied them (brutally) with some ribbon I had lying around the house. Once you’ve got the box and your contents it’s pretty much a pile-it-in situation.
I don’t claim to be a great DIY, in fact if you take a good look at the photos it’s immediately evident I’m quite crap, but it’s the thought that counts. And I think a gift that is inexpensive and homemade is the perfect way to celebrate a holiday I don’t really think deserves to be celebrated! At least, not as much as it is. With that said, Happy Valentine’s to you and your loved ones.
Tags: valentine's
