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12 Creative DIY Valentine’s Gifts Anyone Can Make for Under $5

Nothing says you are special and appreciated more than receiving a homemade Valentine’s present. Am I right? These budget DIY Valentine’s Gifts are so darn cute and are the easiest handcrafted gift ideas you’ll see anywhere. You can surprise your special someone with these Valentine’s Day gift DIY projects that anyone can make. They will be so impressed with your craftiness and will never guess they cost less than $5.00.

Valentine’s handmade gifts are budget-friendly and add a touch of cottagecore to this year’s celebrations. You will save money while taking the extra steps to handcraft your gifts, which will be much more meaningful to the recipients.

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Holding a Dried flower cone pocket for DIY Valentine's gift with decorative paper and pink ribbon

Handcrafted Gift Ideas: DIY Valentine’s Gift Floral Arrangements

Don’t you love to receive flowers for Valentine’s Day? This creative DIY Valentine’s gift idea is to wrap dried flowers in a pretty paper cone. You can make one large bundle or several small ones as gifts for your besties, mom, sister, daughter, etc.

Dried flowers and decorative paper cone for DIY Valentine's Gift.

How To Make Flower Cones For Valentine’s Day

First, find some pretty paper, old book pages, or music sheets to make your cones. I used a 12 x 12-inch decorative sheet from Hobby Lobby. The paper has a beautiful floral pattern and was only .69 cents.

You can easily roll the paper sheet into a cone shape and secure it with tape. Then, tie a bow around the cone with a simple satin ribbon. You will also need to secure the bow with tape underneath the ribbon to keep it from slipping down the cone.

 Dried flower cone pocket for DIY Valentine's gift with decorative paper and pink ribbon for a handcrafted gift idea.

Finally, arrange your dried flower stems in the cone. I usually have some dried flowers on hand, but most of mine have seen better days. Therefore, I purchased the bundle of flowers at Hobby Lobby for $9.00 (40% off) and used 1/2 of the bundle in each Valentine’s Day Gift DIY.

For other options, you can use dried herbs, greenery, and even artificial flowers to fill the cone. If you plan to use fresh flowers, you will need to include a water source, such as these water tubes.

cottagecore Dried flower cone pocket for DIY Valentine's gift with decorative paper and pink ribbon for Homemade Valentine's Present

Homemade Valentine’s Present with Recycled Tin Cans

Another fun way to make a DIY Valentine’s gift is using a recycled tin can vase or plant container. It’s so budget-friendly because the tin can is free and easy to transform. Once you upcycle the can, add a quick coat of white paint, felt heart stickers, and some baby’s breath, and you’ll have an adorable door hanger.

The baby’s breath was only $2.50, and the hearts were $1.50 for 50 pieces.

recycled tin can flower pocket with felt heats and babies breath flowers hanging on antique door for DIY Valentine's Presents.

You may remember the plant pockets I made with recycled aluminum flowers last year. This is basically the same idea but with felt hearts instead of flowers. I also replaced the wire hanger with a red ribbon.

Both versions would make a cute budget Valentine’s idea. You can see how to upcycle the tin cand and the full recycled tutorial at How To Make DIY Plant Pots.

The Gift Of Milk Glass

If you are a thrift store fan, you should be scouring the stores for vintage milk glass. I recently found three bud vases for $2.00 each. What a perfect gift for a special friend. Just fill the bud vase with either artificial or fresh buds. Tie a bow and ta-da, an extraordinary gift.

Vintage milk glass bud vase with pink ribbon for a thrifted Valentine's Day Gift Idea.  Cottagecore vintage ideas.

Dollar Tree Heart Doilie Flower Pockets

Another cute DIY Valentine’s present idea is these cute Dollar Tree Heart Doilies Chair charms. I used the chair charms to hold the baby’s breath for a Galentine’s Brunch Party. The adorable chair charms make a fun gift for all your guests. The charm can be hung on a door or wall after the party.

How To Assemble The Flower Pockets

  • To assemble, use two doilies and make a fan shape.
  • Use hot glue to attach the pieces.
  • Then, make a matching set and glue them together at the bottom of the hearts.
  • Finally, punch a hole at the upper sides and run a ribbon through the holes. Be sure to cut the ribbon long enough for the pocket to drape over the chair’s back.
  • I also added a trio of faux roses for added color.
make a chair charm pocket with Dollar tree doilies and red ribbon.

Fill the pocket charms with a lightweight flower. A heavy flower will cause the pocket to droop.

You can see more about planning a Galentine’s Brunch Party here.

Valentiine's Day Chair Charms made with Dollar Tree paper heart doilies and filed with babies breath blooms.

Homemade Valentine’s Presents with Air Dry Clay

There are several options for making homemade Valentine’s presents with air-dry clay. First, I love to make gift tags with clay. They can be personalized with letter stamps and add a stylish, personalized touch to the gift.

For today’s DIY Valentine’s gifts, I stamped the clay hearts with candy heart messages for today’s DIY Valentine’s gifts.

Air Dry Clay charms and trinket heart for DIY Valentines Gift ideas.

How To Make Air-Dry Clay Gift Tags

Begin by rolling the clay onto a sheet of wax paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten the clay to approximately 1/4 inch thick.

Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut the design.

Next, use a straw to cut a hole in the heart to attach a ribbon. Then, use the letter stamps to create personalized messages. You can use the stamps to add names or any message you desire.

Allow the air-dry clay hearts to dry thoroughly before proceeding. I like to place them on a wire drying rack to speed up the drying time. Once the clay is dry, the heart will be white and dry to the touch.

Dry clay hearts on a drying rack for handcrafted gift ideas.

Finally, paint the clay charms in colors of your choice. They look adorable when tied onto your Valentine’s Day Gift DIY projects.

Homemade Valentine's Present with handcrafted gift ideas flour sack tea towel with hearts and wooden utensils and clay charms.

Air-Dry Clay Trinket Dish: Handcrafted Gift Ideas

Another fun handcrafted gift idea is this air-dry clay heart trinket dish.

To make the trinket dish, use the large heart cookie cutter and add any design elements. Gently press the herb design into the clay using the rolling pin.

Then, shape the clay over a round object and allow it to dry. Finally, paint, and you have a sweetheart of a trinket dish for pennies.

Valentine Heart Magnets

This same technique can be used to make DIY Valentine’s gift magnets. Just create your designs and add magnets to the back of the clay.

Make air dry clay for budget valentine ideas heart magnets- homemade valentine's presents and handcrafted gift ideas.

Insider Tip

I recommend using a suitable glue such as e6000 to attach the magnetics to the clay hearts. Initially, I used self-adhesive magnetics, and they did not adhere to the clay sufficiently. The strong glue will keep your Valentine’s Heart magnetics safe on your refrigerator.

use e6000 glue to add magnets to the clay hearts for DIY Valentine's Gift

Easy Valentine Handmade Gift: Heart Tea Towel

Everyone loves receiving cute seasonal tea towels. They can be used in kitchens and bathrooms to add a touch of seasonal style.

These homemade Valentine’s presents are made using inexpensive flour sack towels and heart-shaped cookie cutters. The flour sacks cost less than $2.00 each, and you can quickly whip up 12 gifts for under $20.00.

All you need is some craft paint in your choice of colors. Spread the paint onto a flat surface, dip the cookie cutters into the paint, and then stamp randomly onto the flour sack towel. Once the paint is dry, heat set with a hot iron or heat press.

Handcrafted Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day

There are several options for this DIY Valentine’s Present. The handcrafted gift idea can be paired with several inexpensive items for a fabulous present.

First, add one of the heart cookie cutters with a ribbon as a budget Valentine’s idea.

DIY heart flour sack tea towel with heart cookie cutter tied with a pink satin ribbon.  cottagecore homemade Valentine's present idea

The Valentine’s Day Gift DIY looks perfect tied with wooden utensils (7 for $8.00) or a wood scrub brush (3 for 10.00).

What To Gift With A Tea Towel?

Here are some other ideas to add to the DIY Valentine’s present.

Tea towel and dish brush makes a budget-Valentine's Day Gift DIY

Handcrafted Gift Ideas: DIY Bookmark

This handcrafted gift idea is the easiest of all. Gather some cardstock paper, a piece of old book page, and some dried flowers to create this handcrafted gift idea that would be perfect for any occasion.

Here are the quick and easy DIY Book Page Marker steps.

  • Cut card stock approximately 2 1/2 inches x 6 inches
  • Tear the edges of an old book page to fit inside these dimensions.
  • Glue the book page to the card stock
  • Punch a hole at the top of the card
  • Tie a ribbon through the hole
  • Add small pieces of dried flowers to the top with hot glue.
homemade Valentine's Present - easy crafted bookmark with old book pages and dried flowers.  Cottagecore gift ideas.

You can gift the homemade Valentine’s present bookmarker with a vintage or new book.

My friend Stacy’s new book, A Beautiful Easy-Care Flower Garden, will be available just in time for Valentine’s Day. It is a beautiful book with many excellent tips for the beginning flower gardener. What a lovely gift idea.

Insider Tip – Hair Spray

When adding the dried flowers to the bookmark, they will likely drop some petals. You can avoid excess shedding by spraying the blooms with hairspray.

Be sure to cover the ribbon before spraying. The hairspray didn’t damage the old book page; if it had, it would have only added to the appeal.

This worked like a charm because I didn’t see any petals dropping. I even shook it vigorously. LOL Yay!

Easy Gardening Valentine’s Gift Ideas

If you are looking for garden-themed Valentine’s Gift ideas, consider a small clay pot (6 for $17.00) with a package of flower seeds. You can increase the value of the gift with Stacy’s book, pruning shears, moss balls, etc.

Clay pot with flower seeds and moss balls for DIY Valentines Presents.  Handcrafted Gift Ideas.  Cottagecore Gift ideas.

Herb Starter Valentine’s Gift

Gift a herb starter for a budget Valentine’s idea. Fill a paper seedling pot planter with rooted herbs. The paper seedling pots are very inexpensive, and I found these at Dollar Tree.

Add a few of the clay heart charms with some jute twine to enhance the sweet gift.

Add herbs to a seedling pot for a cheap handcrafted gift ideas. Cottagecore gift ideas.

Budget Valentine’s Idea – The Sweet Gift Of Candy

Finally, let’s not overlook the sweet gift of candy for a budget Valentine’s Idea.

This simple gift was originally used as a place card holder for a Galentine’s Party Brunch Table. However, it can be adapted for a sweet Valentine’s gift idea.

Just find some inexpensive jars or vases at the thrift store and fill them with Valentine’s candy.

Then add some of the felt hearts to a stick or long toothpick, add a ribbon, and ta-da a sweet guest gift or hostess gift.

DIY Valentine's Gift with candly and felt hearts.  Homemade Valentine's Present

I think that is more than 12 Handcrafted Gift Ideas, but I could go on all day. There are so many endless possibilities. I’m sure this has got your mind spinning and your creativity in high gear. Let me know what variations of these gift ideas you decide to use.

Additional DIY Valentine’s Gift Ideas

There are so many gift options. These may cost more than $5.00 but are well worth a look.

Resources

You can see all the resources listed in this post here – my Amazon Storefront.

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to sharing my next adventures with you.

Pin It To Remember It

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12 Creative Ideas for Handcrafted Valentine's Gift Ideas.  Easy to make gifts for under $5.00
12 Creative DIY Valentine's Gift Ideas with handmade Valentines Presents. Cottagecore Valentine's Gift Ideas

CoCo

Wednesday 31st of January 2024

There are so many fabulous ideas in this post, Rachel, I don't know whihc one to pin first! I adore the flower cone and the bookmark you made and all the air dry clay hearts you've created too. I've never tried to paint the ones I've made so I'm excited to try that as well. You know that blush gets me every time! Loving and pinning and can't wait to share thes beautiful ideas on Friday. Sending you hugs, CoCo

Rachel

Wednesday 31st of January 2024

CoCo, you are so sweet. I'm glad you liked these ideas. Thank you so much for your support.