Let’s Make a Valentine Gift

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! If you are still wanting to make a gift, this one will take you no time at all as most of it comes ready to give. As a bonus you can make it for under $15! I actually gave this to my daughter and son-in-law as a Christmas gift, but it is perfect for Valentines’ Day!

Supplies

• Corrugated metal Plaque
• Love sign or other letters, words, symbols
• Craft paint
• Small paintbrushes
• Magnets
• Replacement cord or ribbon if making for less rustic decor (*optional)

Inspiration

I found the supplies at Walmart one day while shopping for Christmas goodies. I was wandering through the craft section, as in my want to do, on my way to women’s leggings. Out of the corner of my eye, on the bottom shelf, I saw a corrugated tin plaque with a rustic rope attached to it. The plaque was $5.99.

Above the shelf were several letters, symbols, and words hanging on hooks made from the same metal. The little love sign was $4.99

Hmmm, that would make a cute gift for my daughter and son-in-law, I thought; and the tin & rope design would go well with their décor. The little tin LOVE sign would be a great addition to the plaque too. I bought both pieces. A bonus to this gift, if you are shipping it like I was, is that it is very lightweight.

Customizing

Since both pieces of this gift were made of the same corrugated tin, they were the same color, so I decided to paint the LOVE sign to help it stand out. I chose a paint color that is very similar to the wall paint in their house. I think red would be the perfect color if you are making this for a Valentine gift! Of course, any color would be nice – oooh, hot pink would also be great for Valentine’s Day!

Choosing paint

The paint I used was from a sample I had picked up at Lowes when I was painting the deck and shutters on the house. I had picked up three similar colors when I was choosing paint for those projects and still had them in my paint stash. Because it’s been over a year since I’ve opened any of these jars of paint, the lids were stuck on tight and I couldn’t open them. I looked around for something to assist and found these rubber bracelets laying on my craft table. I’m not really sure where they came from but I had placed them there in case I found a use for them. Look how perfectly they fit the lids! I put one on the first jar, gave it a twist, and voila! it opened right up! Score!!! I find it extra fun that the bracelets match the paint color in the jars 🙂

Not certain which paint would look the best on the LOVE sign, I tried them all. Two of the sample paints gave the sign a glossy look and the third one was matte. Although all 3 looked nice, I chose the matte one, it’s a nice smoky dark teal color. Three coats of paint were needed for the look I wanted but one coat would give you a worn, used look if that’s a look you like.

Attaching the pieces

There are other ways you could attach the LOVE to the plaque. Using the hangers that are provided behind the word, it could be nailed or screwed on or it could even be glued. By using magnets, it allows for repositioning of the LOVE sign as wanted; it was also the easiest and quickest method.

Finished gift

Instructions

• Buy materials
• Paint with accent color
• Change or remove rope if wanted
• Attach sign/symbol with magnets, glue, or screws

Additional Ideas

You can customize this gift several ways. The rope is removable so you can exchange it for ribbon or cord or even leave the plaque without the hanger and use the existing holes from where the rope is attached to hang the plaque on a wall.

You can include other words, symbols, or letters with the gift so it can be used for other occasions and seasons. The options are limitless! It is a gift that can be customized as you wish! Example: symbols such as animals, a sun; letters for initials, to spell out a name; words such as faith, joy, celebrate, family….

For your convenience

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