By: Taylor Napolitan 

      The Valentine season is almost here and the members at The Squire want to help our fellow students generate some creative ideas for some DIY gifts to give your significant other. 

     Valentine’s Day is a moment to share what you have and to show how much you care about the people you love in your life. How you want to share these emotions can vary. DIY gifts are easy, fun, and, normally, a very affordable gift option. Here are some of the gift options that you can make for your partner. 

“Firsts” Map Hearts 

Materials you will need: 

• Paper 
• A printer 
• Scissors 
• Sharpie/Permanent Marker (red and black) 

• Scrapbook paper 
• Mini clothing pins or push pins 
• Wooden shadow box 

     Step one: Once you have gathered the materials, go on your phone, and open the app maps. This app should be on all phones. If your phone does not have this installed, then go to the app store and install it or go to the internet browser of your choice. 

     Step Two: Now that you are in the app or browser, you are going to look up the location of your first date, first kiss, first adventure, a place you enjoy going with them, where you first met, or where you discussed the future area you would live together. 

     Step Three: The size of your frame will change the number of locations you can choose; we chose six.  

     Step Four: Copy the picture of the map and put it in a word document or take a screenshot of the image and crop it down. 

     Step Five: Print the image out and cut into a medium sized heart shape. 

     Step Six: Using a red marker, make a dot on the location you chose.  

     Step Seven: Cut out a small rectangle the width of the heart and write the topic of the location you chose, like first date. 

     Step Eight: Cut out a piece of scrapbook paper the size of the inside of the frame and glue it to the back of the frame. 

     Step Nine: Hot glue the clothing pins to the scrapbook and attach the hearts to them when the glue is dried. If you are using pins, then pin the hearts to the back of the board. 

     Step Ten: On the small pieces of paper that you wrote the location on, glue them underneath the hearts. 

     Step Eleven: Add any decorations like stickers, marker designs, old flowers from a past date, etc. to the scrapbook paper. 

     Step Twelve: Close the frame up, place it in a gift bag, write a card, and wait for your partner’s reaction! 

Our next gift idea is another fun one. If you have a partner that enjoys music or even if you share a few favorite songs together, this would be a great gift for them! 

Spotify Keychain 

Materials you will need: 

• Shrinky Dink Printer Paper (needs to be printer if you want a picture of you and your partner) 
• Printer 
• Single hole punch 
• Key chain links 

     Step One: On your phone or computer, download a collage app.  

     Step Two: Upload a picture of the song, showing the play button and timeline. 

     Step Three: Find your favorite picture of you and your partner or one of the two of you together. 

     Step Four: Make up a playlist on Spotify with all your favorite songs you have shared and take a picture or screenshot of the Spotify playlist link. 

     Step Five: Set up the pictures in the same way that it looks when you play songs on Spotify and Apple Music. 

     Step Six: Look at the back of the Shrinky Dink packaging for directions for baking.  Preheat your oven so it will be ready for you to bake once you have printed your image. 

     Step Seven: When you have your set up, place the Shrinky Dink paper into your printer. YOU NEED TO HAVE PRINTER SHRINKY DINK PAPER, or it will not transfer the image. 

     Step Eight: Print the image and use a single hole punch and hole punch on the top of your printed out sheet where you want the keychain to be. Cut around the image, leave about 1/8 of an inch border around the image. The clear around the image will stay the same once you bake it, so be neat! 

     Step Nine: On the back of the Shrinky Dink packaging there will be thorough instructions on how to bake them. 

     Step Ten: After they are cooled off, use your key chain links and attach them through the hole you made earlier. This is the last and final step.  

Some other good ideas for gifts to make include: 

     Color boxes- Use items that are their favorite color. Fill the box with candy and snacks and           decorate it with the same-colored decorations. 

     Customized Cards- Make some personalized cards by making puns to show your appreciation of a friend or even confess your love for that one boy. 

     Candy Puns- Make a pun about your feelings using your partner’s favorite candy and attach the candy to a card with the pun on it. 

     The Squire interviewed Eisenhower freshman twins Katie and Kris Bunk for their input on making gifts for their friends and families. Katie enjoys drawing, painting, and does many art projects on her spare time. For Valentine’s Day she enjoys making cards for her family and friends. Her most memorable gift she made for someone was a Swedish Fish card. This year Katie will be giving gifts to her parents, grandma, and her cat Opie, “because I love him.” This 2021 Valentine’s Day, Kris will be getting a gift for his mom. 

     Katie and Kris have never received more than a homemade card from anyone. Kris says for Valentine’s Day he gets things like candy and maybe a card. The twins were asked if they had ever received a gift Kris claimed, “If I ever got one, then yes.” And Katie added, “I’ve gotten memes.” The twins both agreed that DIY gifts are a thoughtful and are always a good idea for gifting something personalized. It does not matter to either of the Bunks if the gift is homemade or store bought because “it’s the thought that counts.”  

     Valentine’s Day is a great time to show people how much you care about them. With our help giving you detailed step by step crafts and DIY gifts to make your significant others, you can brighten up your partner’s day! You can even make these gifts for your friends! DIY gifts make it easy for everyone to enjoy and have fun with.