Last-Minute Valentine's Gifts

I have been absent due to possibly the craziest beginning to a New Year...Just before, I got rear-ended on the way to work, came down with the flu that stuck around for two weeks, my husband had a kidney stone attack, a friend/co-worker passed away four days after giving birth to her first child, my husband's dad returned from Afghanistan so we spent a little over a week visiting his family and mine, and then--in the midst of trying to get back into the swing of things--I had a tire blow out while on the highway with semis behind me. I lost control and ended up in a ditch 20 ft below the road I was driving on. Fun stuff.

That aside, I thought a couple of the things I did as gifts for Valentine's Day would make great last-minute gifts for those of you equally overwhelmed. I decided to try my hand at chocolate molding when I came across a super cute plastic mold that would make a tool box and individual tools. It was a little over a dollar shipped, and Michael's had milk chocolate wafers in all colors (I went traditional) on sale. So I decided it was worth a shot...Ignore the dirty stove...Some chocolate jumped ship:

The Ingredients...

Milk Chocolate melting wafers $2.49

Plastic candy mold $1.45

Microwaveable bowl

Spatula

Freezer

I did not have much faith in my ability to make candy since I have never tried, but it was super easy! I melted a handful of wafers in 30 second increments, and mixed before restarting it. You have to be VERY careful not to overheat chocolate or it won't work for this project (you will know because it turns dark and lumpy). Wash bowl out in between uses to avoid the leftovers from overheating with the new wafers, and dry thoroughly as moisture is equally bad for chocolate. Pour into molds and tap to settle, smooth, and remove air bubbles. Freeze for an hour. The above photo was taken once removed from the freezer and mold so the frosty look did not last. Turn mold over on smooth surface and pieces will drop. Use sharp steak knife to "trim" edges.

Do you have a song, love letter, poem, story, memory, or even wedding vows you would like to memoralize? If you aren't comfortable with photo editors, but like the projects they produce, look no further than YouAreYourWords.com! I decided to give it a test run with one of my favorite photos and the lyrics of 'our' song:

This was the result. While I still prefer to make my own graphics and prints, I think this turned out rather nice once printed on card stock, cut down, and framed. So there you have it! Two completely easy and affordable last-minute projects that no one would think was last-minute ;) I have quite the assortment of surprises (not all DIY) for my love...Some he already possesses since we are terrible at waiting, and also the 7th of February marks our six-month milestone (2 1/2 years married!) so we always spoil each other more than usual the first/second week of the month. He got me an incredible set of measuring spoons I have been dying for, made me a spin top from brass, and brought me breakfast-in-bed. Not too shabby :) What do you all do for/around Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day! $5 and Under Post

Even knowing the true history of the day, I LOVE having a day [officially] dedicated to love...I have long used my crafty powers for the Valentine's gifts and here are some of the things I have come up with:

For our first married Valentine's Day, I made my husband a modern take of the marriage certificate...

The Ingredients...

-Photo

-Photo editor

-Saying that reflects your view on love

Painted over a photo, added a border, and then the details of our wedding! Printed and framed it for under $5. For last year's Valentine's Day, we had a week of love since our six month milestone is the 7th and the 14th was a week day. I made framed map hearts that hang over my desk area, a dry erase board, a special breakfast, and a card...

The Ingredients... 

-Frames

-Computer & printer

-Scissors

-Glue stick

-Card stock

I found maps online for places where we met, married, and lived. Using a heart template I made, I traced hearts on the maps printed on card stock, cut down additional card stock to fit the super cute dollar store frames I found, and mounted the hearts to the card stock, let dry and framed them. Damage? $5.

 

The Ingredients...

-Frame

-Vintage clip-on earrings

-Dry erase markers

-Fine-ruled notebook paper

-Paper in color of choice to back notebook paper

I had seen some cute DIY dry erase boards and love boards for couples floating around on Pinterest, so I decided to try my hand at it...I personally did not like the look of actual notebook paper, so I made an 8x10 graphic in a photo editor, printed it, framed it, and added three vintage clip-on earrings from my personal collection, wrote 'I love you because...' In black dry erase marker and left a red one by the frame. It's nice to leave a love note, or find one. Damage? Less than $5.

The Ingredients (literally this time)...

-Bread 

-Eggs

-Heart-shaped cookie cutter

My husband introduced me to the breakfast known as man-on-a-raft, usually made by cutting a hole in bread with a small-mouthed glass. I used a cookie cutter in the shape of a heart instead to make a love-inspired breakfast for my sweet man. Damage? $3 for the cookie cutter that is painted red and adds a little splash of color in the kitchen when not being used.

My card was a spare map heart of Topsail Island with a "banner" of a love saying printed in a cute font on card stock mounted to a piece of, you got it, card stock! Damage? NONE.

Photo Love Story

With easy editors like PicMonkey at our fingertips, it is easy to turn your favorite photos into a story. A week after my husband and I eloped to Topsail Island, this story--as told in my journal--occurred, and I thought it would be the perfect accent to one of our favorite wedding photos...

I do not suggest cropping images in editors without first "testing" it on online print sites like Snapfish. This will not print below an 8x10, but that is fine with me.

The Ingredients...
-Properly sized favorite photo
(saving or downloaded photos from Facebook
albums will NOT work. It must be the original photo or
else it won't print properly and will look "glitchy").

-Photo editor.

Think of the fun you can have with your favorite romantic, family, and friend photos!

Christmas Crafts

I was perusing the vast array of online bloggers this fine Christmas Eve when I came across a project inspired by Rockstar Divas: 12 Dates of Christmas. My husband and I have had those moments where we want to go out and do something, but are running low on ideas and this seemed like a great solution.

The Ingredients...
-12 envelopes.
-12 index cards, pieces of cardstock, or cards of your choice.
-Permanent markers in black or holiday colors.

The project took all of five minutes, the bulk of which was dedicated to coming up with date ideas. I did six dates in red marker, six dates in green, and then sealed them up and wrote numbers on the envelopes in a super simple (and amateurish) alternaing red-and-green motif:

I then added them in to one of his gift boxes, but they would also make a great stocking stuffer! Next year, I believe he'll contribute to 6 cards, but I truly love the idea however it is adapted and used. I am no stranger to a DIY Christmas. In fact, last year was almost entirely DIY...

I made our second year ornament, and a special ornament for our family...

The Ingredients...

-Glass ball ornament.

-Card stock.

-Word processor AND printer.

-Scissors.

-Ink pen.

-Your choice of ribbon.

-Charm.

-Ornament box.

I typed up our vows in a vintage font in a muted red, printed on card stock, and then cut them into thin strips. I used an ink pen to curl the strips, and release them inside the ornament. My curls improved since I made SEVERAL of these after this. I tied festive thin red and gold ribbons and added a silver-tone sand dollar charm since we eloped on an island.

I found red velvet ornament boxes at our local dollar store complete with cheap (mostly broken) hand-painted ball ornaments. I used them to store the ornaments I made (besides ours, I did the Lord's prayer for our parents and grandparents with varying charms, and a poem on daughters with a girl charm for his eldest brother) and three inch card stock strips to make label/sleeves for the boxes with the title and year.

Using a simply photo editor I made my husband this personalized print:

I chose a fun font, a saying special to us, and use two of the editor's 'stickers' to form the olive. For those not in the know, 'Olive Juice' is a way of saying 'I love you' that comes from the show Family Guy. When my husband and I were long-distance and did not want our first saying to be at a distance, we would say that as a way to cheat the system, haha.

Here's a little summary image of the finished products. 

What are YOUR favorite Christmas crafts?

Introduction

I am Kaitlin and I am a happily married sometimes writer, most-of-the-time shutterbug who works with chieldren who have Autism all the time and crafts her heart out in the times in between.Some projects are pure me, others inspired by Pinterest.