Easy Valentine's Day Decorations and Gifts

Spread the love with a special hand-made card. Draw a design on white cardstock with a white China marker or white crayon. Lay some watercolor on top to reveal the design and bring bright color to the page. Pair with a bright envelope.

Create a personal message on either packaged or homemade sugar cookies. Use a pastry brush to dab red food coloring onto clean rubber stamps normally used for crafts. Lightly press a message into cookies.

These clever gifts do double duty both as a bookmark and a candy holder.

To make them, look for sturdy paper that is patterned on one side and solid on the other, or glue together two pieces of paper, one patterned and one solid color, using spray adhesive. Cut into a rectangular shape, then cut heart shape at top and add slit along left side, as pictured. Crease the center from top to bottom and fold. Open left side. Use double-stick tape to adhere paper flap below open heart to the right side to create a pocket. Fold top flap closed and punch a hole in upper right corner. Add treat, thread a narrow ribbon through the hole and tie.

Draw or print out coloring designs on full sheets of sticker paper for these treat bags. Cut out heart shapes and color as desired. Press sticker onto a colored bag and add treats. To seal, fold over top, punch two holes and tie the bag closed with a string. 

Corrugated cardboard gives these hearts a playful appeal and sturdy texture.

Trace around a 5-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter or another 5-inch heart shape for your first heart and cut out. Gently fold heart on the diagonal and punch holes in the center through both layers about a half-inch from the fold. For the second heart, use pinking shears to cut a heart about a quarter-inch larger from a contrasting piece of paper. Apply crafts tape along the sides (but not the top) of the small heart and attach to larger heart. Create an arrow from a paper straw and cardstock head and tail; insert through holes in top heart, attaching arrowhead after this step. Insert small candies, or, just use the heart for decoration.

Package your Valentine's cookies in a simple, pretty homemade bag. Slip a cookie or two in a plastic treat bag (available at crafts stores) with a piece of scrapbooking paper. Fold contrasting paper over the opening, punch two holes, and tie with ribbon.To make your cookies pink, add a few drops of gel food coloring to sugar cookie dough. Decorate with sugar hearts (attached with frosting) if you like.

Use a pancake pen (such as the Tovolo one) to "write" X and O shapes with pancake batter on a hot griddle pan. Or use X- and O-shape cookie cutters to creates shapes after round pancakes are cooked. Add fresh fruit for color and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Create these cards with heart-shape cookie cutters, 5x7 cards, a 4-inch foam roller and acrylic paint. Roll on paint, leaving about a half-inch border. When dry, dip cookie cutters in contrasting paint and stamp.

Package Valentine's gifts in a personalized muslin bag. Place a piece of cardstock inside the bag and stamp an image on the front. When the ink is dry, fill with candy.

Naturally full of holes, doilies make a perfect choice for hand-stitched treat holders. Use 4-6 layers for both the front and back, stitching together using embroidery floss (leave the top oven). Tuck a plastic treat bag with small candies into the pocket, and close with a twist tie.

Do you help pack lunch for someone in your house? Leave them a surprise by clipping on Valentine's candy. We used pinking shears to cut a scalloped border around red card stock, layered on a contrasting piece of paper, then attached foil-wrapped chocolates with double-sided tape.

Make a sweet message by putting out your Valentine's treats in letter-shape dishes. Search online for "ceramic letter dishes"; one source is ivylanedesign.com.

A heart-shape cookie cutter is just the right size to hold a couple of chocolate hearts. Hot glue cookie cutter to pink glitter paper, then glue a ribbon to the side of the cookie cutter, winding it around the heart.

Make a container of soda or beer more special by adding scrapbook papers, ribbon and a tag. Use double-sided tape or glue to attach paper.

This wreath covered with paper curls makes a pretty decoration for your home. To start this project, tightly wrap 1x6-inch strips of patterned paper around a pencil to curl. Glue the end of each curl into a loop. Hot-glue the paper to an 8-inch foam wreath form, and repeat until the form is covered. Embellish with a Valentine's Day sentiment if you like.

Fill a pretty teapot with flowers for a centerpiece or gift. To indulge a tea lover, give with a tea bag-shape tag and include a pair of cups and assorted teas.

Decorate a mantel, window or mirror with a garland of mini love notes for your sweetie. We created ours from white cardstock, red paper and pink glitter paper, but you could use any supplies you have in the house or use inexpensive purchased cards.

Make a simple wreath out of pretty scrapbooking papers and glue dots. Cut a 12-inch square of double-sided scrapbook paper into one-inch strips. Make seven hearts. Fold a paper strip in half, sandwiching a glue dot about an inch down from the fold to create the top of the heart. Bend the loose ends away from the center and use two more dots to join them at the point. Use glue dots to adhere the sides of the hearts in a circle and to add a ribbon for hanging.

Here's a fun project to make with kids or grandkids. Cut an apple in half and trim the edges so it looks like a heart. Dip in red paint and stamp cards. When it dries, add a message and glue on seeds.

Fingerling potatoes sliced in half lengthwise make perfect stampers for Valentine's treat sacks. Put a piece of cardboard inside a 4"x6" muslin bag. Take one potato half and press into an ink pad or paint, then press onto the bag to create half a heart shape. Press the other potato half into a second ink pad or different shade of paint and press onto bag to complete the heart. Let dry before removing the cardboard. Fill with candy or other treats.

Create cute Valentine's placemats in minutes with muslin, paint, a brush and a round stamp shape. Use the brush to make X's and the stamp to make the O's. A fingerling potato sliced in half may be the right shape for the O's.

Make a garland of hearts cut from fabric scraps layered and attached with iron-on adhesive. Tie together with ribbon. You could achieve a similar effect using sturdy scrapbook paper, too.

Homemade tags from scrapbooking papers, ribbons and stickers make any gift look special. Use a palette of no more than three to four colors for the prettiest results.

Easy centerpiece: Three stemless wine glasses hold roses floating in a bit of water, while votives provide a flickering accent.

Create a heart wreath with pretty card stock and scrapbooking papers. Use paper punches or scissors to cut out hearts, then curl by scraping them as you would curling ribbon. Layer and glue to a cardstock base.

Package homemade cookies with paper hearts-held together with a brad-for a lunch or dinner family treat.Puffed Heart Lemon Cookies recipe

A centerpiece of lollipop flowers (see previous slide) sets the tone for an informal Valentine place setting for breakfast or lunch.

Homemade cards brighten anyone's day. Create sweet messages with hearts, cardstock and ribbon.

Dress up wrapped candy bars by adding your own papers, messages, ribbons and other accents.

Give a bookmark with heart to the reader in your life. Cut rectangles out of cream-color and red wool felt. For the bookmark at left, we cut a heart out of the cream-color felt, trimmed the edges of the red felt with scallop-edge scissors and glued the pieces together. For the bookmark at right, we stitched up the middle using embroidery floss, then glued on a red felt heart.