Mini DIY washi tape Valentine notes

I was inspired by Patricia's post and Ellie's business cards to make some tiny Valentine's Day notecards using washi tape and baker's twine. These little babies are 2.25" square. To make your own using tape (or decorate however you like), download and print out the blanks I made:

Notecard printable PDF

Print and cut out the cards, then align a couple strips of tape on the front and trim off the edges.


Use a 1/8" hole punch or scissors to notch the edges to keep the twine in place.


Wrap the cover with twine, tie, and write a scandalous message inside. Make mini envelopes out of coordinating paper if you're feeling ambitious!

Free, printable Valentine's Day cards

Here are a handful of nifty Valentine's Day cards posted around the internet. They're all free to download and print.
1.) Hand-lettered cards at A Pair and a Spare
2.) Simple love notes at She Knows
3.) Typewriter Valentine by Kiki and Company
4.) All You Need is Love notecard from Design Corral

DIY cut-paper Valentine banner

Hi, Friend sent me a link to their free template to make this Valentine's Day fiesta banner. So nice! And so time-consuming. You'd better get out your X-acto knife immediately. Do it. Tell your boss you've got better things to do, go home, and start cutting right this instant.

P.S. This would be a great DIY garland for wedding receptions, too.

DIY geometric felt heart garland

I had some stiffened felt left over from this box project, so I cut out some quick, freehand hearts with an X-acto knife.

Geometric shapes are trendy right now. So are ubiquitous chevron patterns, but polka dots are going to overtake those zig zags soon, mark my words.

But back to the felt. E-Z Felt is stiff and sturdy, and about $2 a sheet at my local craft store. It's very forgiving to cut, since any slices that accidentally overshoot the corners of a cutout won't show.

Stringing these hearts on twine is easy since they're full of holes. Really big hearts could be used as trivets or coasters, too.

Make a wall of paper hearts

I like 3D paper things, and multiples of things, and Valentine's Day.

The other night I made these paper hearts while watching TV. You could stick them on a wall or door temporarily, or glue them to a board permanently to make a 3D wall poster. They'd be cool to attach to presents, too. Surprise somebody with an explosion of hearts!

These are made from traditional heart shapes with a slit cut partway down the center. Cut your own hearts freehand, or print and cut out the shapes on the template I made, which might be faster and uses fewer brain cells.

Download the page of hearts here.

To make a flat heart into something three dimensional, roll the inner edges of the two arcs toward the back with your fingers to get the shape started.

Then add a bit of glue or double-stick tape along one edge. Pinch the two edges of the heart together from the back, forcing the center to naturally pop up.

When the edges are glued together, the heart looks 3D.

I used bits of double-stick tape to secure mine—a speedy method—but a few of the hearts popped apart within a couple days and had to be re-stuck. Glue holds better, I found.

Once you get the hang of it, you can bend that paper to your will and make dozens.

Then stick a flock of hearts to a wall with loops of tape or poster putty placed at the bottom point on the back side of each shape.

Free printable Valentine cards

Love vs. Design has posted a pretty set of folded cards and Valentine's Day coupons to give to your sweetie. Download them right here for the nice price of zero dollars.

Make unconventional Valentine treat boxes

These free Valentine box templates at Mr. Printable made me smile. Who needs pink anyhow? Choose heart-shaped favor boxes with faces, or two other options with triangles and stripes.

A Valentine latte with pink froth

We were goofing around in the kitchen this weekend and decided it would be fun to make colored milk froth for our lattes. Here's a pink heart that I glopped on with a spoon and shaped with a toothpick.

I think I need a little more practice. But we amused ourselves. Alex often tries to make me a stiff foam 3D cat with pointy ears that looks as if it's half submerged in the cup. I always get a kick out of that one.

He's the foam master. We make stovetop espresso in our Bialetti pot and add hot milk, and then he uses a $2.99 frother from IKEA to make foam. I've tried and can't get it nearly as nice as his. So asked, and here's his method, with direct quotes. Keep in mind this man is an engineer.

Heat about 1/4 cup of milk in the microwave on high until it's just about to boil. At the first hint of bubbles, stop. (About 45 seconds.)

Don't scorch the milk. "It denatures the proteins and changes the flavor profile." Oh, okay. "You have to keep an eye on it, so put your face right up to the microwave door. You'll risk microwave exposure, but it's necessary." Sure, no problem. A good latte is worth it. Heat your milk on the stove if this idea bothers you.

Update! From FKMN's husband in the comments: "The milk must never get above 65 degrees Celcius [149 F] — that will start the milk sugar (lactose) caramelizing and completely change the flavour of the milk and resulting latte." Whoa, good to know. So don't microwave it so long.

Then put the frothing wand in the hot milk and run it for 30 seconds or less. "The key to getting the right foaming consistency that you like is a combination of cup tilting and moving the frother in and around. I like to move the frother in a circular pattern so that new areas of the milk get hit with the shearing motion."

Shearing motion. Got it.

Then let the foam sit about 30 seconds, and it will stiffen up. "You can wait a little longer, but at some point the foam cells start to break down."

Spoon the foam onto your latte.

To make colored foam, add one or two drops of food coloring to the hot milk before you froth it.

Mid-century furniture desktop wallpapers

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the occasion, Lushpad is offering mid-century themed wallpapers for computers and devices. Grab the furniture design in black or red right here.

DIY pixel heart necklace

Need a last-minute DIY Valentine's Day gift? Show how much you care by using 50 cents' worth of paper and glue to make a pendant.

I was inspired by all the pixel stuff at Pinterest lately. (Part of the 80s revival, perhaps?) And I was really impressed by a paper necklace Patricia Zapata was sporting at the Alt Design Summit recently.

To make the pendant, cut 12 hearts from cardstock. You can download the PDF template here, print it at 100%, and cut out hearts very carefully with an X-acto knife. Or, if you have a Silhouette cutting machine, download the .studio file here and make your machine do the work. The template produces hearts that are 1.5" wide.

Glue the hearts into a stack, applying glue sparingly. Sometimes it's helpful to use the tip of the bottle to smear the glue around a bit. I used Mono Aqua clear glue from Office Max.

As the glue dries, the pendant will harden nicely. If you wanted to seal it, you could brush on some hard coat Mod Podge or apply a coat of clear acrylic gel medium.

Update: get more designs to make right here.

Make an easy origami heart-shaped dish

I get a kick out of speedy little paper projects, so I had to try the folded heart basket demonstrated by Leyla Torres at Origami Spirit. It's easy! You could spend a couple minutes fancying up your Valentine table with these and impress your friends and family.

Round-up of free Valentine printables

Try making these DIY Valentine's Day greetings if you're the crafty sort!
Pop-up pixelated Valentine by Mini-Eco
Cupid arrows with glitter pencils from Sweet Muffin Suite
Stitched Valentine card by Dandee
Printable tags from Everyday Occasions
Valentine scramble gram at Oh Happy Day

Make a solid-color origami heart garland

A variation of yesterday's striped paper garland—try solid-color hearts folded from origami paper. They even have a pocket in the back to run your string through, so no taping needed. Get the instructions here.

Make a striped origami heart garland

These striped origami hearts are quick and easy to fold—you won't be tempted to say any bad words as you make them. (Unlike with this box or this cat.) Connect the hearts with twine to make a simple Valentine's Day decoration.

Get the folding instructions here; choose diagram or animation. I used 6" sheets from this awesome pack of 100 different colors of origami paper. Each square will yield two hearts that are about 3 1/2" wide. And a tip: use a little piece of double-stick tape to keep the fronts of the hearts from popping forward. They'll lie flatter this way.

Create Valentine dishes with edible paint

For a party or special dinner, try decorating plain dishes with icing. Designs will be perfectly edible, and if you make a mistake while painting, just lick it off and start over. (Don't tell anyone your tongue made contact with their plate.)

To make this "paint," I mixed 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of water, and 2 drops of liquid food coloring. Apply with a paintbrush. If needed, run your fingernail around any wiggly edges to smooth them out before they dry.

Printable Valentine card and coupon freebie

Floris of Love vs. Design just sent over a link to a new printable. It's a Valentine's Day card and a set of coupons you can fill out for your sweetie to redeem. Help yourself to the free download here!

Cute, printable label freebies

While Googling for labels this morning, I came across these adorable little items at The Nimbus Factory. The set was originally posted for Valentine's Day, but several of them will work year round. Get the PDF downloads here and here.

Last-minute Valentine printables

Monday is Valentine's Day. If you haven't given it a thought, there's still time to get festive. Check out these completely awesome cup wrappers from Eat Drink Chic.

Spotted at Creature Comforts: a link to Valentine e-cards at Kate Spade. Choose from approximately one zillion different designs.

Get a PDF with four different printable Valentine cards, compliments of Fellow Creatives.

And if you're simply not an effusive, sentimental sap like the rest of us, download the valentine schmalentine from Mmmcrafts.

Printable Valentine cards

Happy February, everyone. Check out these cute, printable classroom Valentine freebies at One Charming Party. Send them with your child to school or hide one in your sweetie's sock drawer.

Asterisk heart garland template

Who says Valentine's Day has to be pink? I vote for orange.

To make your own Valentine garland, download the heart template PDF right here. You can print it on a sheet of cardstock* and cut out the inner shapes with a craft knife. I cheated and cut these directly from Adobe Illustrator using my Silhouette cutter, which took just a couple minutes.

*This template only works with orange** paper. If you use another color, your project will fail.

**I am kidding, of course. As soon as I typed that, I realized from past experience that I would get a handful of emails from concerned crafters wondering if this is actually true. It's not.