Sustainable DIY Valentine's Day Decor That Looks Cute And Classy
Valentine's Day décor is the perfect way to show your love and dedication ... to the planet. It's forecasted that around $26 billion will be invested into this romantically-themed holiday in 2023, via Statista. That's two billion more than the previous year. Americans spend roughly $10.7 billion combined on flowers, chocolate, and jewelry, writes Wallet Hub, and $1 billion on greeting cards. For Valentine's Day alone, rose farms produce over 220 million of these fragrant stems, via Gourmet Gift Baskets, and those ubiquitous heart-shaped boxes? Over 36 million cardboard vessels are produced ... just for this little holiday. It's the fifth-biggest celebratory day for sales in the United States, via The Balance Money, which means it's also not that great in terms of helping out our planet.
Think of all the paper goods created just for the big day. Cards, boxes, chocolate wrappers, and decorations all eventually end up fermenting in landfills. The mass exodus of greeting cards to big box stores means an increase in deforestation, via Columbia Climate School.
Luckily, when it comes to décor, there are earth-friendly ways to show your friends and family that you care. By upcycling items, you're giving them a second life and keeping them out of landfills. If you're looking to have a more sustainable V-Day and want to show the earth (and its inhabitants) how much you care, we've gathered some great ways to create your own special Valentine's Day décor.
Upgrade your paper hearts
Folding paper in half and cutting out a half heart is always cute, but why not get creative with origami hearts or make a bunch of 3D honeycomb hearts? The latter is a bit more time-consuming but eye-catching nonetheless. You could just call it a labor of love.
Give your tea towels a makeover
If you happen to have any embroidery thread or fabric scraps in your home, it's time to get your sew on. Attach fabric shapes that have been precut, or go simple with Xs and Os or hearts stitched out of thread.
Make magnets out of bottle caps and old books
For this project, you'll need bottle caps, polyurethane, magnets, and old books (or Valentine's Day beads). Cut out a piece of paper that fits inside the bottle cap, pour a thin layer of polyurethane, and let it cure for 24 hours. Then attach a magnet to the back using glue.
Make a little garland
These can be made with paper, card stock, or fabric. All you'll need is some sort of cordage to hang them up. Keep it simple with cut-out hearts, or make something a bit more elaborate with tiny fabric rectangles to look like envelopes.
Paint some mason jars
For this DIY, you'll need spray paint, primer, and jars of any size. In a well-ventilated area, spray the primer evenly on the jar, and once dry, add your color. If you want to get fancy, you can use acrylic paint or paint pens to draw little hearts, cupids, and symbols of love.
Decorate with flowers
While the rose typically takes center stage as the most romantic floral gift for Valentine's Day, why not try something different and use flowers that bloom in a multitude of happy colors? Tulips, carnations, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers, and anemones are excellent choices. Except for sunflowers, they all come in various striking colors, too.
Get romantic with a wall hanging floral vase
This requires a bit of nature, twine, and small, uniform vases. Tie a piece of twine to a branch and hang it on your wall, then affix separate strings to each vase. Secure each vase to the branch so that they hang unevenly. Just add flowers.
Build a tree of love centerpiece
This DIY involves sticks or twigs, tape, and small paper hearts. Collect your sticks and place them in a vase. Strategically place your hearts on the twigs, taping them on the back. You can also make little paper heart ornaments by hanging them with string or red ribbon.
Upcycle a card deck to make a wreath
Everyone has a couple of old card decks lying around. Make a heart-shaped base out of cardboard, then glue on all the red heart cards. Fasten a red ribbon to the back so that you can hang it. Now you've got some seriously regal Valentine's décor.
Use nature and make twig hearts
Seek inspiration from the outside and take advantage of the trees that might still be leafless. Longer, greener twigs can be bent, folded into half-heart shapes, and secured with ribbon. Or you can cut twigs to size, layer them to make a heart shape, and secure them with hot glue.
Get crafty with yarn or twine
Cut a heart out of thin cardboard (cereal boxes work great). Tape one end of your twine or yarn to the center. Randomly wrap the string medium around your heart until it's completely covered, then secure a knot. You can also affix an extra string if you want to hang it as a decoration.
Invoke some little love gnomes
Ruffles and Rainboots has a quick and easy no-sew project to bring these little Valentine's gnomes to life. You'll just need felt, fake fur or unthreaded yarn, hot glue, and a few different crafty odds and ends. Be sure to use red, pink, and white fabric to keep things in the holiday spirit.
Make love-inspired wall hangings
A wall hanging can be simple or ornate. You'll need some fabric, cordage, a dowel rod, and glue. Cut the fabric into a flag shape and decorate it as desired. Secure the fabric to the dowel with hot glue or fabric glue, and then tie the cordage to each end of the dowel.
Create one-of-a-kind art
Who doesn't like a personalized piece of artwork? This is your time to shine and let your creative juices flow ... in the name of love. Go wild. Try pottery or sculpture, make a painting, or build a mobile. Your only limit is your imagination.
Put your corks to good use
Corks can be great mementos for past romantic date nights. So why not use them to create a hanging heart made out of corks? Bonus points if you can create an ombre effect using corks that have varying degrees of red wine stain.
Make a cookie cutter wind chime
You'll need an assortment of heart-shaped cookie cutters and some cordage. Small chain links or paracord work great. Keeping your largest heart horizontal, make four or five holes near the bottom half. Keep the others vertical and poke holes in the tops where the two heart halves meet, then string everything at different lengths.