Somewhere Splendid

Growing up, I think Valentine's Day was my favorite holiday in school. We got to make or cut out little Valentines for our classmates, assigning the perfect card to each person. Then at school, we would make little mailboxes out of paper plates, shoe boxes, or coffee cans. Let's not forget the little conversational candy hearts and frosted cupcakes. Even before school, I loved Valentine's Day:


That's me (left) with my best friend Jessie at my Grandma's house when we were little. Grandma would go all out, having us dress up in little dresses, making us little goodie baskets, tying red heart balloons on our highchairs... I totally believe this explains why I'm a total cornball with a major sweet tooth.

So, I like to go a little crazy with DIY Valentine's Day, and the nice thing is that you don't have to spend a lot or buy in to the whole $15 box of chocolates and $50 rose bouquet thing. You can create a special little Valentine's Party all for yourself, your honey, your friends, or your little ones, without having to spend a ton. These are my top 10 favorite freebies and tutorials out there.

1. DIY Valentine Party by Somewhere Splendid. I found this amazing piece of inspiration via Creature Comforts, who actually took it a step further and sourced the inspiration to things around the house or easily attainable. Visit Creature Comforts to learn how to recreate this party yourself!

Somewhere Splendid via Creature Comforts

2. Also from Creature Comforts are these DIY tea bags. Wouldn't these be the PERFECT thing to hand out to all of your co-workers on Valentine's Day? The grown-up version of the little cards and candy we used to pass around. There is a full tutorial, along with the free printables.

Creature Comforts

3. Now, for the little ones in school or daycare - these free, printable Valentine cards are perfect! I think they're suitable for boys and girls - cute, but without being too mushy. Head on over to Pumpkins and Posies to download your copy and print away!

Pumpkins and Posies

4. This one is actually an Indie Pretty Projects exclusive freebie from last year - these are printable ACEO cards, but they are the perfect size for Valentine's Day cards! They're a more grown-up version of Valentine's cards for children - great for middle school and high school. These are designed by the amazing Martora. Visit this post to download and print!

Indie Pretty Projects

5. Printable coloring pages via Make & Take - these are perfect for a kid's Valentine party. I featured these last year, but they are so cute and a great activity for kids that I have to share them again.


6. DIY paper heart garland - instructions with template from Ellinee. Ellinee actually has a TON of very cute printables for many occasions, but their Valentine's collection is one of my favorites. Go to Ellinee to get the how-to and PDF.

Ellinee heart garland

7. Felt and twig arrows - I saw these and thought just how cute they would be attached to little boxes of candy, to suckers, to cards, or hanging by string to make a whimsical garland. As cute as they would be to hand out to friends or decorate with, I think the real fun would be in making them. Homework has the full details and more pictures!

carolyn's homework

8. This is another Indie Pretty Projects exclusive freebie, a robot girl art print created by Desiree of Cozi Home. I love this because it's a great alternative to a Valentine. Most Valentine's Day cards probably get tossed or recycled, but sized for wall art, this is a printable freebie that can be framed and kept! It's totally not Valentine's Day specific, so it can be displayed year-round. See the full post to access the download.

Indie Pretty Projects

9. There are an endless amount of goodies out there for Valentine's, and it is so hard to pick just some to share, but I like these two recipes by The Novice Chef because it's a two-for-one: Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies, and Red Velvet Cheesecake Milkshake. Enough said?