By Marcelle Costanza
I walked into our local Kmart the day after Christmas to stock up on wrapping paper for the following holiday season and was somewhat shocked to see shelves already lined with Valentine's Day merchandise! A little too early for my taste, but I suppose in this busy world the sooner people can plan and prepare the better.
If you're like me, you like to make a few personalized items for your honey, or your kids, or for the kids to give to their Valentine or to their teacher, and so on. This article contains eight great ideas that will jumpstart your creativity.
Remember the Valentine cards we made as kids? Red card stock and paper doilies glued on to the front. Well, thanks to the personal computer and the availability of so many wonderful and unusual inkjet papers those cards have grown up. But you don't have to stop at cards.
Idea #1: Personalize a coffee mug
How about a personalized coffee mug with a photo of your honey? Fill it with some chocolate Kisses and you have a perfect token of your affection. Waterslip decals make this project easy and fun to do, as you can see in Figure A.
FIGURE A
Waterslip decals let you put photos and clipart onto a china mug. Fill it with chocolate candy and you have the perfect gift for your sweetheart. (click for larger image)
If you're not familiar with waterslip decals, this will be a fun discovery. You can buy special inkjet "paper" that's really a film. When you cut out the film and apply water, the "paper" becomes a decal you can slip onto anything you'd like. We've all used decals, but now you can make your own.
By the way, there are a ton of neat hobby applications that come from printing your own decals. If you're a model railroader, you can create your own signs for buildings and rolling stock. If you build plastic models, you can create your own insignia and flashy designs. Your imagination is the only limit!
Idea #2: Make a charming charm bag
Print a photo or clipart on inkjet shrink sheets and make a heart shaped charm. There are also inkjet fabric sheets you can print on and then turn it into a small gift bag, as shown in Figure B, using just a hot glue gun or fabric glue purchased at your local craft store. No sewing needed.
FIGURE B
No sewing is needed to make this cute little fabric bag. Fabric glue on the seams and on a piece of red satin ribbon is all it takes. (click for larger image)
While we're on the topic of charms, you can also make a photo charm for your loved one to hang on a keychain.
Idea #3: Create custom gift boxes
Why not try your hand at constructing a gift box that is also a greeting card? This fancy little box, shown in Figure C, can hold some chocolate truffles or a small gift.
FIGURE C
This small box is a labor intensive but the finished product is well worth the effort. (click for larger image)
A photo of your loved one on the top makes this truly personalized. And after the gift is removed the box can be used to store jewelry or coins or other small items.
Idea #4: Make a custom candy box
Sticking with the traditional candy theme for Valentine's Day, how about a box with dividers for the candy pieces and a cut out on the box top that includes a message printed on a transparency sheet? You can place chocolate Kisses in each if the sections inside the box or, for the design we used for the box shown in Figure D, how about filling the box with message heart candy?
FIGURE D
Print a pattern on cardstock to turn it into a personalized candy box complete with dividers inside to separate your treats. (click for larger image)
Idea #5: Make your own candy bar wrapper
A really simple project with truly sweet results is a personalized candy bar wrapper. Using either plain inkjet paper or any of the myriad wonderful papers out there for inkjet printers, you can make a really "sweet gesture" for your Valentine, as shown in Figure E.
FIGURE E
Just by adding some clipart and photos to plain paper you can design a personalized candy bar wrapper. (click for larger image)
Since many of the wrappers on candy bars these days are no longer paper wrapped over a layer of foil, you have a couple of options. You can make a traditional wrapper and wrap it around the full paper wrapper on the candy, or you can wrap the bar in foil and add you personalized wrapper over the foil for a more traditional look.
Idea #6: Create a custom photo box
Pick up a heart-shaped paper mache box at your local craft store and paint it the color of your choice. Use adhesive-backed photo paper to add photos. Punch a few holes in the top of the box using an awl or a Philips head screw driver. Fill the box with potpourri, put the top back on and you have a personalized sachet.
Idea #7: Make a personalized card
If you prefer to give your honey a store-bought gift but still want to add something personal, just design the card to be something special. If your sweetie is like my husband, he loves "action cards" -- the type of greeting card that performs some sort of action when you open it. There are plenty of instructions available online for making pop-up cards, like the one shown in Figure F.
FIGURE F
Making a pop-up card is not as difficult as you might think. (click for larger image)
Idea #8: Make a scented photo candle
Purchase a scented candle in a clear glass jar. Remove any labels that might be on the jar, find a nice photo of the two of you and use waterslip decals to add those photos to the jar permanently. You can also print the photos on clear window cling and apply the cling to the candle jar. Using the cling gives you the added benefit of allowing you to easily remove the photo for future use once the candle is finished.
As you can see there are so many ways to incorporate your personal photos into wonderful personalized Valentine's Day gifts. Just let your imagination run free!