While looking for interesting, non-syrupy sweet Valentine’s Day crafts to make, I found a lot more than I thought. I had so many finds left over after making the first round-up, that I decided to put up a second one. I’ve always thought that handmade gifts are the nicest ones to give and receive, so it’s my hope that you’ll find some inspiration in these lists to make something nice for a loved one.

I Heart Wall Art

Most Valentine’s Day decorations are quite cheap and cheesy, so if you’re hosting a V-Day get together, it can be difficult to find a tasteful way to decorate your place. I love this idea by Secret Pie Shoppe to cut hearts out of sheet music and tape them to the wall.

P.S. I want to know how I can get my hands on one of those awesome armchairs!

Anatomical Knit Heart

If you’re not really into pink and red Valentine hearts, why not knit up a tongue-in-cheek anatomical heart instead? This one was skillfully made by Craftster PrettyCranium, but she warns that the finishing instructions in the pattern are a bit confusing. If you’re interested in making one of your own, you can buy the pattern on the VogueKnitting website here.

Nerd Love

Got a crush on a web design nerd? Give them one of these cards from Pop+Shorty, and they’re sure to notice you. As a web design nerd myself, I absolutely love it both for it’s cute nerdiness and it’s simple modern design. Not sure if this card is actually handmade or not, but I love it so much I had to include it in the round-up anyway!

Marshmallows in Love

This adorable card features an original illustration by Etsy seller SweetAndKindOf, based out of New York. If loving marshmallows this much is wrong, then I don’t want to be right!

Heartwarmers

Show someone you care by crocheting them one of these pocket ricewarmers. You can get a free pattern here. When you’re done, fill it with rice and heat it in the microwave to keep you or a loved one warm in the cold.

Touch-Activated Pulsating Card

What’s more appropriate on Valentine’s Day than a card that is touch-activated? Touching the spot on the bottom causes the LED’s to light up—I love it! Get full instructions on how to make your very own (including a video tutorial) on the DIY Life website.

Made With Love

I’m not so great at cake decorating (I guess it takes a steadier hand than mine) so I was happy to find free instructions on the CraftZine blog for making these easy cupcake toppers. They take almost no materials, skill, or effort, and the resulting cupcakes still look nice.

LoveBot

Learn how to make your own LoveBot with free instructions from the Sew Green blog. It’s made of secondhand felted sweaters, so it’s good for the environment, too.

You’re the Peanut Butter to my Jam

Who thought a sandwich could be so cute? I always suspected there was something going on between PB and J, and now this confirms it. A nice bit of embroidery work by Craftster magpienight.

Print-Your-Own Bags

I found these two free downloadable bag designs from Twig&Thistle, to giftwrap your handmade goodies. Get the brown paper bag design here, and the white paper bag design here.

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is coming. But there’s no reason to settle for icky-cute hearts and cherubs and pink lace all over everything (yuck!). For this love-themed round-up, I searched high and low across the world wide interwebs for V-Day crafts that won’t give you diabetes. In fact, I found so many awesome things that this will be the first of two Valentine’s Day round-ups, so stay tuned!

Why You Should Be Mine

These cards from Fooka Designs are a bit like those notes kids pass around in school (Do you like me? Check yes or no.) but for really anal types. Give one of these to the lawyer or accountant in your life, and you’re sure to win them over with your romantic thoroughness (just make sure you initial it five times and get it notarized).

Screen Printed Animal Puns

Silly puns have been a Valentine card tradition for many years, but most of them are not as cute and well-executed as these cards by Westmama. They’re a great alternative to the cheap and cheesy cards available at every store this time of year.

Love Yetis

In spite of being kind of ugly and decidedly strange, I find these five-inch-tall Love Yetis to be inexplicably cute. If you have anyone in your life who is a bit offbeat and has an unusual sense of humour, give them one of these to make them feel all warm and fuzzy.

Twig Heart

Hhead into the forest and gather some twigs to earn some Girl Scout cred by making this woven twig heart designed by Sweet Paul.

Heart-Shaped Pouch

If you’re comfortable with the idea of sewing a zipper into a tight curve (not for the faint of heart*) head over to The Purl Bee to learn how to make your own heart-shaped pouch. Make one and fill it up with chocolate—it’s a great environmentally-friendly alternative to the elaborate and disposable chocolate packaging that’s so common this time of year.


*Pun not intended

Bite Me Pillow

We’re all familiar with those chalky candy hearts with no discernible flavour. The worst/best part of them are those cheesy sayings—I can’t help but wonder whose job it is to write them. I love Dominitrix’ take on it with this wonderfully sarcastic Bite Me pillow. If you enjoy well-crafted sarcasm as much as I do, you’ll have lots of fun coming up with alternate sayings to stitch onto it.

Olive You

If your sweetie isn’t really into pink hearts and cherubs, knit him or her this cute jar of olives from Cut Out + Keep to show that you really get them.

Melted Heart Crayon

This melted heart crayon is a nice Valentine’s Day gift to make and give to kids, while getting rid of old broken crayons at the same time. Best of all, you can download a free PDF on the same web page of cards to print out and attach the crayons to.

Let Me Count the Ways

I love this sweater with a binary heart knit into it. I’m not sure what all the zeroes and ones really mean, but after all the effort and detail that goes into making something like this, I’m sure the recipient would agree that it means “I love you”.

A Magnetic Attraction

Learn how to make this LED valentine on Instructables. Give your sweetie one half, then attach both together to make the LEDs light up.