those who know me know there are two things i love (well, hundreds of things really, but these are two of them): giving presents and handmade crafty-ness.
for that reason, i've always loved valentine's day (even for the many, many years i was a single gal). i look at it as just one more excuse to make and give the people i care about crafty presents! i know others find it cheesy, or think it's some kind of greeting card company holiday (i'll be sharing about the history of valentine's day tomorrow), but i enjoy it.
this year though, i haven't had much energy and other than making a gift for my mister (which i am dying to share with you, but it'll have to wait until wednesday), i haven't done anything for valentine's day. thanks to the magic of the internet however, i can live vicariously through all the crafty goodness everyone else is sharing with the world, and you can too!
so here's a round up of my favorite valentine's projects- most of which can (and should) be made with vintage materials...
cupid's arrow sweater embellishment from Elegant Musings- perfect for a vintage cardigan with a hole or other imperfection that needs covering up!
a new friend from Alt and fellow Seattleite, Brianne, has a sweet and simple vintage scrap bookmark how-to on her site- The Ravenna Girls.
another Seattleite pal, Megan from Not Martha posted a great tutorial for valentine's day surprise crackers! crackers have been around since 1847 and though generally used at Christmas, they can make any day or event special! find out more about the history at Absolutely Crackers).
The Lettered Cottage has a great cupcake stand DIY, using vintage plates and other fun things. this would be so cute at a valentine's party!
one of my favorite design sites, Design Sponge, had so many cute valentine's projects last year! my two favorites:
repurposed packaging in old cigar boxes from the BBB Craft Sisters. so many ways to use this idea!
and the
vintage typewriter tin valentine from Ashley. i even have a typewriter tin sitting on a shelf right now, i might have to whip one of these up today!
i dug back all the way to 2010 for this cute vintage spool valentine idea from Papernstitch.
one of my recent favorites- these arrow valentines from Two Shades of Pink. (i'll admit it, i'm a bit obsessed with arrows)! these are so easy and you could incorporate so many vintage materials- fabric, paper, yarn, measuring tapes, tags, and more!
speaking of my arrow obsession, another one of my new pals from Alt, Muffin, has an entire week of free valentine's downloads on her site- Sweet Muffin Suite, and i love this printable arrow valentine! the mister and i were planning to make these on saturday, but cleaning and chores got in the way. sad. i think these would be so cute with vintage pencils inside!
today i stumbled upon these beautiful photos on Simply Bloom Photography and thought- cootie catchers (you know, those origami fortune teller things) would be such a fun valentine! did you make these when you were a kid? i remember making them with my friends from daycare (these, and playing MASH were extremely popular daycare activities)! Ruffled has a PDF template with instructions on how to make them.
what are you making for valentine's day? i'd love it if you'd share a link or send me a photo!
p.s. i'm experimenting with photo size today. if you love or hate the extra big photos, leave me a comment to let me know!
 |
| photo and tote bag from Not Made in China. |
for that reason, i've always loved valentine's day (even for the many, many years i was a single gal). i look at it as just one more excuse to make and give the people i care about crafty presents! i know others find it cheesy, or think it's some kind of greeting card company holiday (i'll be sharing about the history of valentine's day tomorrow), but i enjoy it.
 |
| photo and 'Wheelie' valentine from Thirty Handmade Days. |
this year though, i haven't had much energy and other than making a gift for my mister (which i am dying to share with you, but it'll have to wait until wednesday), i haven't done anything for valentine's day. thanks to the magic of the internet however, i can live vicariously through all the crafty goodness everyone else is sharing with the world, and you can too!
 |
| photo and 'Crafty Like a Fox' pattern by Penelope Waits. |
so here's a round up of my favorite valentine's projects- most of which can (and should) be made with vintage materials...
cupid's arrow sweater embellishment from Elegant Musings- perfect for a vintage cardigan with a hole or other imperfection that needs covering up!
a new friend from Alt and fellow Seattleite, Brianne, has a sweet and simple vintage scrap bookmark how-to on her site- The Ravenna Girls.
another Seattleite pal, Megan from Not Martha posted a great tutorial for valentine's day surprise crackers! crackers have been around since 1847 and though generally used at Christmas, they can make any day or event special! find out more about the history at Absolutely Crackers).
The Lettered Cottage has a great cupcake stand DIY, using vintage plates and other fun things. this would be so cute at a valentine's party!
one of my favorite design sites, Design Sponge, had so many cute valentine's projects last year! my two favorites:
repurposed packaging in old cigar boxes from the BBB Craft Sisters. so many ways to use this idea!
and the
vintage typewriter tin valentine from Ashley. i even have a typewriter tin sitting on a shelf right now, i might have to whip one of these up today!
i dug back all the way to 2010 for this cute vintage spool valentine idea from Papernstitch.
one of my recent favorites- these arrow valentines from Two Shades of Pink. (i'll admit it, i'm a bit obsessed with arrows)! these are so easy and you could incorporate so many vintage materials- fabric, paper, yarn, measuring tapes, tags, and more!
speaking of my arrow obsession, another one of my new pals from Alt, Muffin, has an entire week of free valentine's downloads on her site- Sweet Muffin Suite, and i love this printable arrow valentine! the mister and i were planning to make these on saturday, but cleaning and chores got in the way. sad. i think these would be so cute with vintage pencils inside!
last year i had a blast making flavored butters, inspired by Maize Hutton's 'Spread the Love' post. this year she even has a printable PDF so you can make an easy and cute label! another project with so many ways to use some vintage- fabric for the covers, paper for the labels, even vintage jars to make the butter in!
today i stumbled upon these beautiful photos on Simply Bloom Photography and thought- cootie catchers (you know, those origami fortune teller things) would be such a fun valentine! did you make these when you were a kid? i remember making them with my friends from daycare (these, and playing MASH were extremely popular daycare activities)! Ruffled has a PDF template with instructions on how to make them.
what are you making for valentine's day? i'd love it if you'd share a link or send me a photo!
p.s. i'm experimenting with photo size today. if you love or hate the extra big photos, leave me a comment to let me know!