Celebrate Green Blog

by Lynn

In addition to handmade cards, I like to give our grandkids small treasures for Valentine’s Day. This year I decided to spruce up a box in which to place the little gifts. It’s easy to pull off even for the chronically DIY-impaired.

The box I had on hand to work with originally held a vacuum-packed gift of salmon! The treat is long gone, but I knew that at some point, I’d be re-using the container.

(The box looks bent due to the photographer’s—that would be me—inability to photograph it from the right angle. Believe me, it’s a perfectly fine rectangle.)

I hated to cover up the wonderful art, but I knew I’d never use the box as is, so I selected a variety of papers, cut to fit and glued them on, overlapping each other a bit.

Next I added some ribbon, heart stickers and, because this box will go to two girls who love glitter, a few small rhinestones. I affixed a crystal drawer pull by drilling a hole in the top of the box and screwing on the ornament.

The final step was to line the inside with paper and search around for some little items I know the girls will like. I’ll add a paper Valentine for each.

This project took less than a half hour, cost $0, used only things I had on hand (including the contents), and hopefully, will bring enjoyment to the girls not only this year, but in the future. They can keep Valentines in it or use it to hold whatever they like. (A girl never can have too many treasure boxes!)

Check out a few of our other Valentine’s crafts:

Proclaim your love with a garland

Craft handmade seeded Valentines

Felted wool Valentines

Feel free to share your Valentine’s crafts in the comment section.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.