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It can be hard to not get swept away with the onslaught of advertising telling you all the things you should be buying for your one true love on Valentine’s Day. If you are committed to consuming less and being more eco-friendly – or even if you are just on a budget – going with upcycled handmade valentine’s day gifts can be a great option!

We’ve compiled a list of 19 gloriously romantic handmade valentine’s day gifts that you can make yourself or buy from some fabulous small upcycling craft businesses.

JUST REMEMBER…..

Even if she is the most earth loving lady on the planet, she still wants a token of your love, however small! Don’t hide behind the commercialism of the holiday to skip out on doing something thoughtful – you can rock your eco-credentials and make her swoon at the same time!

NOTE: many of these handmade valentine’s day gift ideas would also be equally great for men and women, but somehow we don’t feel like you ladies need quite the same cajoling to do something thoughtful for your partners…many apologies to the men out there who don’t fit that stereotype!

Leather Heart Bookmark

These sweet little leather heart page saver bookmarks are made by Shadow Crafts UK out of upcycled and recycled leather. If you have leather sewing skills and tools you could easily whip these up yourself but Shadow Crafts UK make them in a range of fun colours and a very cheap price, so we don’t blame you if you are tempted to save yourself the trouble!

Red Rose Painted Mason Jar

The Cats Pyjamas Studio at the time of writing are selling this romantic upcycled 1 litre Kilner Mason Jar painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and decoupaged with a red rose and sealed with clear wax. It’s a one of a kind item (though the Cats Pyjamas Studio have other similar items in their Etsy Shop), so if you want to purchase you’ll have to be quick!

If you miss out you could also have a go at something similar yourself.

The Messy Brunette have a brilliant tutorial for how to paint and decoupage Kilner glass jars. So if you can manage to get some time away from your significant other to get crafty you could have a go at a DIY version. You might just get extra brownie points for being able to tell your sweetheart you made their gift with your own two hands!

Upcycled Tin Can Love Lanterns

If you want something you can DIY but you don’t want to get messy with paint and glue you could try this fabulous tutorial from Bren Did for upcycled tin can ‘Love’ lanterns. She uses entirely upcycled rubbish, namely tin cans, and wire coat hangers, to make these lovely lanterns that would be great for Valentine’s day or even an outdoor or barn wedding.

Again, we’ve got an option if you love this idea but you really aren’t the DIY sort and you just want to find something you can purchase and get on with the rest of your day!

Below are some very similar heart design tin can lanterns from Alice Maud Designs. She sells them in big batches suitable for a wedding or anniversary party but equally (we think anyway!) suited to a grand gesture style surprise valentine’s day romantic dinner at home set up….what do you think?

Paper Book Flowers

Don’t like the idea of buying cut flowers that will wilt in a few days time? Get her a bouquet of always fresh paper flowers made out of old books.

You can try your hand at making these yourself if you have a suitable old and worn down book around, especially if it is one that has a sentimental meaning. You can find a great step by step tutorial from Instructables here. If you prefer to buy your book flower bouquet from a small craft business you can find lots on Etsy including My Creation Workshop (the coloured flowers above) and Paper Flowers by Nicky (the Harry Potter Book Bouquet).

Upcycled Heart Necklaces

Let’s face it jewellery is the classic Valentine’s Day Gift and the one most women would like to receive. But it doesn’t have to be expensive or newly forged to be a beautiful piece of jewellery.

Below are some examples of upcycled handmade heart necklaces from Etsy sellers. You can click on the image captions to go to their listings.

Most of these will be one of a kind pieces so you may not be able to purchase the exact one, but if you find a seller with a style you like it is always worth favouriting their shop to get notified when they list new products.

Perhaps seeing all these examples has sparked your creativity to upcycle something you already have into a romantic piece of jewellery handmade by you? You can find jewellery making kits fairly inexpensively and add your own upcycled charm.

Heart Coasters

Here is a lovely handmade gift idea that is both sentimental and practical – Heart Coasters made from scrap fabric. It’s a valentine’s gift they’ll see every day, for a little dose of your love with their morning cuppa.

Craftbits have a lovely tutorial that shows you how to turn your fabric scraps and leftover cardboard into these unique Valentines Day coasters.

Looking for the ‘I just want to buy it’ hipster version? Try the ones below by Vintage Clinchers. Made of reclaimed wood with anatomical heart illustrations.

Handmade sentimental gestures

Not all gifts have to be things you can actually use or wear. Sometimes the most appreciated Valentine’s Day Gifts are ones that are more of a token gift to demonstrate your feelings.

We’ve not given you a buy it equivalent for the ideas below but you could easily steal some smaller elements of these projects to add an extra touch to the gift tag or packaging of a present you’ve bought – just to make it that little bit more personal!

Photo: Upcycle My Stuff

One of our own tutorials is all about upcycling an empty vanilla extract bottle and some red and white Christmas wrapping paper into a cute sentimental gift that costs nothing!

It includes making a gift tag from some cardboard packaging too. It isn’t anything fancy and your recipient may not keep it forever but it is a zero cost gift that shows you made some effort – brownie points in anyone’s book!

Here’s another almost zero cost sentimental keepsake gift that just might be one they will actually treasure forever – painted heart rocks.

The rocks are obviously found on a beach, in your garden or in the park. The paint is the almost bit of the zero cost description, but if you are a keen crafter or upcycler you’ll have some paint lying around your house somewhere!

Ilovepaintedrocks.com has instructions and tips for how to create all the designs in the photo above in their tutorial here. It’s easy to imagine someone keeping these on a bookshelf or mantel or even using one or two as worry stones or comfort objects when they are travelling far from their loved one.

Continuing with the theme of using found objects to create something handmade and romantic for your Valentine is this piece of Heart Art made with driftwood and cardboard. This is rustic and stylish enough that your sweetheart could display it all year round. Find the step by step tutorial for how to make it at Simplicity in the South here.

Hopefully this list has inspired you to give something handmade this Valentine’s Day – whether its handmade by you or not….well that’s up to you!

If you like one of these ideas Pin it for later on your Valentine’s Day Gifts or Handmade Gift Ideas Board.

If you are looking for more DIY upcycled gift ideas try these articles: