Valentine – Created by Jess

Printable Valentine Treat Boxes

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon! Whether you need to pass out Valentine’s to a whole class or just need one for someone special, this is an easy little project to help you out!

You can download my template at the bottom to print out the boxes onto your scrapbook paper. There is even a template with some box toppers to print, or you can make up your own. Cut, fold, glue, and fill ’em up!

printed template for box — You can see the dashed lines of the template printed here.

Start by choosing your patterned scrapbook paper in a 12 x 12 size for two boxes, if your printer doesn’t print that wide there is also an 8.5 x 11 size for one box. Print onto your decorative paper with the template on the side that will be the inside of your box.

cut out box template — This box is cut and scored for folding

Now you need to score the lines that you are going to be folding (all of the lines inside the perimeter of the template). I use a ruler and my nifty Fiskars embossing stylus. If you don’t have something like this you can use the curved edge of a paperclip, just run it along your ruler for a nice indented line that will make folding easier. Next you will cut out the entire outside edge of the template using a craft knife or scissors.

Next you will fold along all of your scored lines. Crease the lines with your fingernail or a bone folder. Once everything is folded, you will glue the box together. You can use a glue stick or a self adhesive tape runner for instant results.

Next you will cut out the Valentine toppers for the boxes or cut out your own printed or stamped designs. Make sure and leave a tab of paper attached to the bottom of your design so that you can insert it into the box. You will also need to punch a small circle, 1″ or 1.5″ works, or cut them out by hand. These circles will be out of the same patterned paper, one to match the inside of each box.

When you get to this stage you are going to be inserting the Valentine toppers into the boxes. See the image below for the four steps to follow.

steps for box toppers — The four steps to inserting the box toppers

Draw a line with the ruler touching each diagonal corner of the box top, you will end up with an X that marks the center.
Using a craft knife, cut a slit through the center of the box top to match the width of the tab you cut on your topper. Insert the tab into the slit.
Using scissors, cut the tab in half vertically and fold one half up and one half down.
Glue your punched out circle in matching paper over the tabs to secure the topper in place.

Once you have made all of your boxes, fill them up with just about anything! I got some Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts for mine but there are so many choices for Valentine candy that you could fill each box with a different thing if you wanted to! I hope you enjoy this little project, post a picture of your creations on the Created By Jess Facebook page!

boxes with candy — Boxes filled with Peanut Butter Hearts

Click below for the .pdf templates and box topper artwork.

valentinebox.pdf

Felt Hearts Flower Pot

This craft is another creation put together with stuff I had in my supply stash. I had purchased some small paper mache boxes shaped like cupcakes. I decorated them last year but wasn’t too happy with them, the lids didn’t fit very well. I decided to toss the lids and just use the bottom like a flower pot. The base was already painted pink and I had added red flocking powder to the trim. I gave it one more coat of the flocking powder, using Elmer’s glue as an adhesive. With that finished I pulled out the other things I would need to finish this idea, wire for stems, styrofoam to fill the flower pot, sticky backed felt hearts, and some glitter.

The flowers are super easy to make, use already cut felt hearts with sticky backs. I cut long lengths of the silver wire, you’ll trim them down when you assemble the finished piece. Simply place the wire between two matching hearts and press together, done! Once I had all of the flowers together I used hot glue to attach the styrofoam chunk inside the flower pot. I cut a pink paper circle to cover the top. Using Elmer’s glue, coat the paper circle in a layer of glue and sprinkle with glitter. I used a pink and white glitter mix. Once that dries you can hot glue it onto the styrofoam to cover your flower pot top, make sure to glue down all around the edge.

I decided I wanted a little decoration to tuck in with the flowers, kind of like the card you get when you order real flowers. I used a cream colored paper and some rubber stamps to make this one. I stamped the border in red ink and a cute little bee in black ink. I colored the bee with marker and stamped the words, “BEE MINE” in red ink on a separate piece of paper. I cut out the words and inked the edges black, then glued them onto the background. I punched out a small circle of the same cream colored paper and sandwiched a wire between it and the little bee tag.

Now it’s time to assemble your flower pot. I used a little metal piercing tool I have to poke holes into the glittered base, this make the wire insert smoothly. I continued to punch holes and insert and trim my wires to different lengths until all were in place. I punched one last hole for the little tag and left it a bit longer than the tallest flower. I put a small dot of Elmer’s glue on top of each hole so that it would sink down and dry to hold the wires in place. That’s it! A very easy craft to make, no special skills needed. You can even mix things up and use paper flowers or other shapes besides hearts. I thought this made an adorable Valentine decoration!

Pink Elephant Wreath

If you’ve read my blog before then it’s not a surprise that I love making wreaths. I especially like to cut out a base using cardboard from an empty cereal box. Using boxes you have lying around is a great way to make a simple wreath for any occasion. With the supplies you have on hand this project can be done for free without making a trip to the craft store. Over a year ago I bought a really cute pack of chipboard stickers that I just had to have. I’ve only used a few of them since then but still really like them. Some were just so large I didn’t know how to use them. One of them is pink elephant that is very cute. I decided that because I’m in the Valentine crafting spirit I could put the elephant to use. Having decided to make a wreath, I went digging for other red, white, and pink things to decorate with. I had a package of paper flowers that I hadn’t found a use for yet, perfect!

I cut out two big circles from the cereal box and glued them back to back. Next I picked out a printed paper that would cover the front and back of the wreath. I glued the red striped paper down to each side and then cut a hole in the center of the wreath using my craft knife. To hang the wreath, I cut a length of sparkly red ribbon and tied the ends together and looped it onto the wreath. Time to decorate! I chose to use my hot glue gun for this because the quick drying time is great and the hold is strong. I started hot gluing my paper flowers at the top of the wreath and worked my way around until it was covered. I did all of large flowers first and then filled in areas with the smaller flowers. I glued some small flowers onto the a few large ones to accent them. With all of the flowers in place it was time for the elephant, I left the paper backing on the elephant sticker and used got glue to attach it to the bottom left side of the wreath.

With all the main pieces glued down, I added embellishments. I went through my binders and picked out pink, red, white, and purple things. I used hot glue to add my buttons, gemstone flowers, hearts, and pearls. Adding a little bit of sparkle and dimension all around the wreath really brought out the flowers and made them stand out individually.

Now I have a cute wreath that is suitable as a Valentine decoration but can be hung up all year round. I hope that this project inspires you to use the things you already have to create something wonderful and new. Thanks for reading!