DIY VALENTINE'S HEART BOXES

First off, thank you so much for your sweet Pasadya birthday wishes. :) I'm SO blessed to be able to pursue this, and I can't believe how much I've learned since I started.

So back to business...

After the sun going in and out, taking a ridiculous amount of photos, endless editing, and figuring out how to make downloads available (YAY!--and please let me know if doesn't work), I have a Valentine's Day tutorial ready for you guys!!

Gather! (and prepare yourself)...

GAH! Are you already dying of the smushy cuteness? I am.

Find out how to make these little babies after the jump.

You'll need:

1. 8-1/2" x 11" Heart template--download here. (The original templates were found here).

2. "I Love You Because:" template--download here.

3. "14 Reasons Why I Love You" template--download here.

4. Hole punch (of course I didn't have a regular one with the handles, so I made do.

5. Scissors

6. Glitter

7. Spray paint

8. Glue

9. Ribbon

Once you download your templates (all of which will fit on an 8-1/2" x 11" white card stock sheet of paper), you're all ready to go! I just let my cuts stay kinda wobbly...kinda reminds me of when I was a little kid, so I guess I thought it looked halfway silly, halfway adorable.

Let's go then...

Fold along all of the light gray lines so that they're facing the inside of the heart box.

This part was kinda tricky for me the first time. To close the box at the bottom, put the pointy flaps underneath the perpendicular flap with a straight edge. Then just pop the remaining straight-edged flap underneath the first straight-edged flap, but on top of the pointy ones. Confusing much?

Glue the flap pictured above to close the box. It helped me to stick my scissors on the inside to help push the flap onto the joining edge of the box.

Look how your little guy is coming together! <3

Now for the fun part--spray-paint the bottom of the box (hold the can about 6 inches to one foot away, adding extra spray at the bottom to achieve the ombre effect.

Don't forget to spray the bottom! Makes it look more put-together. "Professional!!" as my husband told me.

While the stinky paint is drying (I will definitely not put food in these boxes), grab your "I Love You Because" template and start cutting it into strips. Kinda like little fortunes for the inside of your love box.

Write down all the reasons you love the person you're giving this to. Try not to get overly emotional...kidding of course! Be as sappy as you like. It's VALENTINE'S DAY!!! Unless you're like me, bawling on the driveway as I wrote down my love reasons. Kidding again. Sort of.

Take your hole punch and punch little holes into your tags and your heart box.

Gather your sweet words of love and stuff them into the box. Cry all over again.

Now it's time to go glue-glitter crazy! With your glue tube, paint a teeny heart in the middle of the tag, and then throw glitter on top. I used a fine glitter...really love the effect on that baby heart.

I'm squealing out of cuteness right now.

Now get your ribbon and thread it through your heart box and the tag.

Tie the ribbon any way you'd like, and wahlah!! You have yourself a small, inexpensive (but heartfelt!!) token for your loved ones.

Er...I meant to send these out a few days ago, but seeing as I'm late, they'll still serve as sweet little pick-me-ups for the people that receive them in the mail majorly late. :)

Are you going to make any of these for your favorite people?? I'd love to hear!

Happy early Valentine's Day, pretties!