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Giving a beautifully wrapped handmade gift for any occasion is a thoughtful gesture, but especially so on Valentine's Day as way to express your love with a personal touch. For DIY pros, coming up with ideas and setting aside time to complete a project is a cinch, since they're experts in the space and crafting is a hobby.
But for newbies or those intimidated by the idea of creating a gift on their own, finding a project and figuring out if it's doable can be a challenge. That's why we came up with 30 DIY Valentine's Day gift ideas, from projects perfect for beginners to those that are more advanced, plus DIY kits that you can send to your Valentine or complete yourself and wrap.
DIY TUTORIALS
First things first: Find a project that's up your sweetheart's alley. We gathered our gift-giving favorites and added some great ideas from our friends at HGTV. Read on for our top DIY gift picks, tutorials on how to do them, and the tools you'll need to buy to complete each project.
Spice Up Your Valentine's Day Dinner
Serious cooks know that if you want to create flavorful dishes, fresh herbs and spices are a must. If you want to turn up the heat for a DIY Valentine's Day dinner, learn how to prepare and use spices like a pro. For starters, you'll need a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder for quicker meals.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Make a Chess and Checkerboard
This handsome wooden chess and checkerboard is surprisingly simple to make, if you spend a few hours working on it over the course of a couple days. The woods used should have the same degree of hardness to make the board easy to sand at the end of the project. A few tools you'll need include an orbital sander, table saw, and bar clamps.
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Create an Indoor Herb Garden
An indoor herb garden is a wonderful addition to any kitchen to kitchen—especially in winter to use for soup and other hearty dishes. If you're a newbie, growing commonly-used herbs like sage, parsley, cilantro, and rosemary is a good place to start. You'll also need a planter, like this self-watering option, or a galvanized planter, to complete your DIY Valentine's Day gift.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Make a Classic Leather Wallet
This leather wallet is an excellent DIY Valentine's Day gift, perfect for carrying both cards and cash. Don't be intimidated if you've never worked with leather before, because this DIY Valentine's Day gift is straightforward and ideal for first-timers.
There are only three materials needed: leather, nylon hand-stitching thread, and a large eye stitching needle. For tools, make sure to have a good utility knife on hand.
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Build a Wooden Birdhouse
This birdhouse is a DIY Valentine's Day project that's easy to tackle, even if you're new to woodworking. It calls for minimal materials and the final product attracts small- and medium-sized birds, like cardinals. You can use a hammer to drive in nails, but a nail gun is kinder on your back and shoulders.
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Make an Ice Cream Maker
An ice cream maker—along with a recipe for the recipient's favorite flavor—is a sweet DIY Valentine's Day gift. This old-fashioned one takes just seven steps to complete, and can be made with everyday materials, including a Lavazza coffee can and a decorative dresser knob. It also calls for commonly used tools, like this top-rated circular saw.
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Create a Copper Bracelet
These artsy copper bracelets are made with simple hand tools, but a propane torch is required to finish the job. It's after heating and shaping the copper tubing that this DIY Valentine's Day gift gets crafty. The design possibilities are limitless, and this project includes instructions on how to make bracelet patterns.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Make a Multipurpose Wooden Box
Crafting a wooden box may seem easy peasy, but it can take time to perfect your woodworking skills. Once you do, a finely made small box with attractive joinery is perfect for holding a heartfelt gift, like homemade cookies or DIY beauty products. Also, the recipient can repurpose it later on as a planter or for myriad other uses. To build this thoughtful gift, a good dado set is essential.
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Build a Wine Rack
Talk about a practical gift to store your vino. Your favorite oenophile is sure to love this DIY Valentine's Day gift—especially if you throw in a a bottle or two of their pinot noir of choice or a Winc wine club subscription. If you choose to work with wood to make your rack, you'll need a good palm sander.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Make an Attractive Butcher Block
A gorgeous handmade oak or walnut butcher's block makes an eye-catching DIY Valentine's Day gift for anyone who loves to cook or entertain. Chopping is one use, but it's also a perfect oversized cheese board for your next gathering. The project requires a planer to plane the board.
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Create a Leather Tassel Keychain
Repurpose leather from an old bag or buy some at a fabric store to create this elegant DIY Valentine's Day gift. The keychain with an optional USB Lightning cable is an easy project that makes a statement. You'll essentially just measure, cut, and glue, and only three materials are required.
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Build a Wall Clock
You may think of analog wall clocks as unnecessary relics, thanks to smartphones. But those that are well designed—especially by you!—make eye-catching décor. The clocks in this DIY project fit the bill, perfectly complementing practically any aesthetic, from chic modern design to cozy farmhouse style.
The materials needed are minimal, and—bonus!—you probably already have some at home, like as a dinner plate, woven placemat, or wood serving platter. In addition to purchasing a clock mechanism, you'll also need a reliable cordless drill.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Make a Leather iPad Case
This DIY Valentine's Day gift looks impressive and is easy to make. Find a leather remnant that suits your sweetheart's style and snag a pair of leather-appropriate scissors (it's worth spending extra on a pair of high-quality shears for this or any project, trust us). The ones we link to above get rave reviews—an average 4.9 stars from more than 8,200 customers. If you want to splurge, throw in the iPad.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Decorate Porcelain Coffee Mugs
Coffee mugs with cheery flowers in bold hues are sure to brighten anyone's morning. That's why we chose this project, which makes a lovely DIY Valentine's Day gift. After purchasing the mugs, all that's required is painting blooms of your choice, then curing the cups in the oven.
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Make a Cutting Board
Sure, buying a cutting board as a gift for someone who loves cooking is easy—too easy, in fact. Luckily, you can earn extra Brownie points if your Valentine knows how much elbow grease you put into sanding that board to perfection.
Along with a handsome piece of wood (oak is a good choice), get a jar of natural beeswax polish to seal it.
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Stitch Monogrammed Towels
Giving something monogrammed is always a slam dunk, especially if the recipient uses it regularly. A sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch for initialing is required (check out the Singer model linked to above), but any size towel will work. A monogrammed multi-size set makes a lovely presentation.
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Create a Lemon Wreath
This delightful wreath brings an early spring aesthetic to any front door or mantle, with faux greenery and lemons that can withstand the elements. Filling out the wreath wire to create a balanced look takes patience and some skill, but beyond that, all you need is a glue gun in your holster.
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Make a Firewood Carrier
Bringing in firewood can be a messy affair, but use this charming rustic carrier and cleanup will be eliminated. The DIY project is so simple and genius, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. The hardest part is splitting logs to go inside!
Once you've selected a 2x3 rug in the design of your choice, the rest essentially comes down to cutting and folding fabric and using a hacksaw for the dowels.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Create a Stylish Ring Holder
A ring holder isn't an essential object, which is why having one feels so special. You can't go wrong with this DIY Valentine's Day gift for that very reason. After the concrete dries in the mold, use tape to create a pattern, then go to town with your personalized design. It never hurts to add some sparkle, which is easily achieved with metallic and glitter acrylic paint.
➥ Read the full tutorial
Rachel Klein
Senior Commerce Editor
Rachel Klein is a Senior Commerce Editor for Popular Mechanics, where she writes about everything from garden hose reels and patio furniture to mesh wifi systems and robot vacuums. She started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and was a travel editor for more than a decade before she started testing and reviewing luggage, noise-cancelling headphones, and other travel-related products. Fast-forward another five years and her area of expertise includes home decor, appliances, tech, and outdoor adventure gear. In her spare time, you'll find her planning her next trip, reading historical fiction, and seeing as much art as she can squeeze into a weekend.
