Heartfelt DIY Valentine's Gifts
By: Jes Cates
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, plenty of broke high school students, like me, are looking for heartfelt yet affordable gifts for their partners. As hand-made gifts are the most endearing and heartfelt of all, I decided to make three inexpensive DIY gifts. I will be making Heart Gummies, a 53 Reasons Why I Love You book, and Origami Flowers, I will also include four alternative crafts. Disclaimer: I am not at all a skilled origamist, so the time it takes for me to do the craft will be much less for those with better skills.
Hopefully these will look better for you guys!
Heart Gummies: (15-25 Minute Prep + Cook Time)
Best if you’re looking for something sweet :)
Materials: ($8.59 after tax)
Heart Silicone Mold ($5.99 at Michaels).
Haribo Valentines Gummies ($1 at Dollar Tree).
Using two packs (about 100 bears) I was able to make eight heart gummies.
You could also make your own gummies (The Spruce Eats), if you have the time or are more of a confectioner, for this you’ll need:
3 ounces of flavored gelatin
1 envelope (1/4-ounce) of unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup of cold water
Procedure:
Spray Mold With Cooking Spray
I forgot to do this and my gummies came out fine.
Melt gummies:
I started with ¾ cup, I put it in the microwave for a minute. DO NOT DO THIS THEY WILL BOIL OVER, as seen below. From then on, I put them in for 10-15 minute intervals, totaling about 35 seconds.
Pour Into Mold:
Depending on how hot the solution was, it would run faster or slower, unaware of this it was difficult to make them pretty.
To let the gummies take the shape of the mold fully, you can use a food dropper to put your gelatin in the molds.
Set Gummies:
Instructions say 6-24 hours, but mine took about 36 hours to set, so I think the size of your gummies will decide how long they need to set.
I waited until they were very firm to take them out of the molds, they got more gummy-like as they sat on the counter.
I told you they didn't look pretty.
Even though this was definitely the messiest craft, it was the most fun. I really enjoyed making these, even if it was just melting one thing down and creating a new one. I hope my girlfriend enjoys these, and if they taste terrible then at least she’ll appreciate the effort. Hopefully? I would definitely make these again, with more experience under my belt I hope it’ll be a more enjoyable and clean task.
*Several gummy bears were harmed in the making of this gift.
Reasons I love You Book
Reasons Why I Love You card deck: (30-40 Min. + Brainstorming)
Best if your partner likes words of affirmation :)
Materials: ($8.58 after tax)
Card Deck ($1 for a two-pack at Dollar Tree, or $2 each at 5 Below)
Hole puncher ($1 at Dollar Tree)
Something to hold cards together (I used a Book Ring, $2.49 for a 12 pack at Hobby Lobby)
Letter Stickers ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby)
Glitter Heart Stickers ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby).
Procedure:
Punch holes into the 54 cards, (my hole puncher handled three cards at a time, the task took about five-ten minutes).
Fill it in with reasons why you love your partner.
Use decorations/photos to make the book your own.
This was the easiest craft to make, with the most time-consuming part being the hole punching. I used letter stickers for the cover, the only issue was that “Reasons” didn’t really fit on it horizontally, so I had to squish it in a bit. I also decorated the cover and pages with heart stickers. Even though it took a lot of time to think of 53 reasons without repeating myself, it was one of my most enjoyable tasks. I made a list on paper so I could keep better track of my reasons, and I found that I would think of more of them when I was busy doing something else, so I would often go back and forth from working on the book and my other tasks.
This was definitely my favorite craft, it got me thinking of all the good memories I have with my girlfriend and the things I love about her. I think this is a really sweet gift and as long as your reasons mostly focus on non-physical attributes, like your partner’s personality, how they make you feel, etc., they’ll like it too.
An ungodly amount of origami
Origami Roses:
Best for origamists with partners who like hand-made gifts :)
Materials:
Origami paper (Around $5 for a pack of assorted colors/sizes at Hobby Lobby)
Initially, I tried using construction paper, but it took me about 30 minutes before I gave up, leaving me with a red piece of crumpled-up paper. Instead, I would recommend using Origami paper, unless you can find another thin kind of paper.
Procedure:
Daisy: Origami Daisy (10-20 min.)
Tulips: Origami Tulip Flowers (5 min.)
Frog: Origami Jumping Frog (5 min.)
Heart: Heart Origami (5 min.)
So… you might be able to tell, I went a little crazy with the origami, I probably spent about 2 hours making them, even though individually they should not have taken that long, I made one very awful and ugly daisy, two functional (hooray!) jumping frogs, two hearts with messages inside of them, and five tulips.
This was a very fun craft, the daisy was a very discouraging start, but as I looked for ideas more in my skill level, I got the hang of it. Another thing: I made the frogs because they are one of my girlfriend's favorite animals, and I met her while my friends and I were out “hunting” for frogs so it's sentimental to us. You do not at all have to make an origami frog for your partner.
Alternatives:
Over the Years Scrapbook, Credit: Amazon
Over The Years scrapbook:
Pick out your happiest memories/pictures with your partner.
Choose a theme.
Make your scrapbook.
For couples who take lots of pictures and have been together/known each other for a long time.
Open When Letters, Credit: Etsy
Open When letters:
Ex: Open When You’re Feeling Down, Receive Big News, Feeling Nostalgic, etc.
Better suited for more wordy and writer-type people.
Themed Box, Credit: Etsy
Themed box:
Fill a box with candy/snacks/etc that your partner likes.
Pretty versatile gift.
Heart-shaped catch-all:
Heart-Shaped Catchall, Credit: Blue Room Pottery
Clay bowl in the shape of a heart.
More for people interested in clay.
Helpful Sources:
I think no matter what you make for your partner, they’re going to love it, because it’s from you, and you put time and effort into a thoughtful and sweet gift. I spent a lot of time stressing over the small details, thinking she’ll hate the gift or me, but that’s just not true. Even though you should try to make your gifts as pretty as possible, you should make them think about how much you care for your partner, not worrying about their opinions on the gift. While making the gift, ask questions about their preferences for the components involved in what you’re making, so it feels like it's more for them. I did this with my gifts by including candy she likes and making a flower and a frog using her favorite color, midnight purple.