EDITOR’S NOTE: Water cooler conversations at Green Mountain Energy often center on sustainability and conservation. This blog series features some of our best ideas, or “life hacks,” to help you manage your daily activities more efficiently.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and you may wonder how you can show your appreciation or affection for friends, family and loved ones in a simple, easy and sustainable way. You’ve come to the right place!
While store-bought cards are a nice gesture, homemade and “do it yourself” projects allow you to add a personalized touch in a reusable way.
What You’ll Need
Think about some of the old birthday cards, outdated calendars, old magazines and newspapers, and random buttons and ribbons you may have around the house. These materials are actually PERFECT for this Valentine’s craft project.
You can cut out applicable shapes (hearts, stars, circles) from old calendars and holiday cards to glue onto your own construction paper. If the calendar or cards are funny (animals, pets, “hot” guys or girls, etc.) it can make for some particularly amusing content! Decorate with buttons and ribbons. It sounds cheesy, but the end product can be funny and cute, as well as relevant to the person you are giving the card to.
If you have a book that you no longer have use for, cut out hearts and other shapes to add a nice touch to your project. You can also use book pages as the canvas for your paintings. Just glue on and then gloss with a clear or white acrylic paint on top.
Pair these gift ideas with some homemade cookies or brownies, and your work here is done. All for a few bucks.
A Step Further
If you want to get really fancy, take an old glass jar (that once held jelly, jam, pickles, salsa, etc.) and tie a ribbon or piece of lace around the middle of it. Place a few carnations or roses in the jar, and you’ve got a nice present for your loved one.
Place wine corks or flowers in a reused jar to remember special nights or events.
If you purchased a gift that needs to be wrapped, use the “funnies” section of the newspaper. I think this is particularly cute for a guy’s gift.
Capture The Moment
If you are feeling romantic (and are over 21), one way to remember your special night is to keep the cork of the wine bottle you opened that evening. Using a sharpie, write the date and event on the wine cork. Keep these corks in a pretty clear vase as a conversation piece and nice, original piece of home décor.
How do you get crafty for holidays? Share below!
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