Cupid Creations: Quick and clever Valentine Crafts

It's Friday! I must be in love. Or maybe it's the feeling that comes from creating these Cupid creations for today's Studio 5 segment. I ADORE Valentine's Day and had such fun putting together a few festive ideas to give to the loved ones in my life.

Cupid Creation #1: Fortune Cookie Cuties
If you've followed my blog for awhile (or my Pinterest page), you've seen my cupcake-liner cookies.

[Fortune-cookie tutorial here.]

Wanting to mix things up a bit, I decided to expand upon this idea, creating cookies in various sizes using various materials.

Bitty Cupcake-liner Cookie
These are great if you want to fill a Chinese-food box with several tasty greetings, because they're small. (Probably the closest in size to a real fortune cookie.)

Basic Cupcake Cookie
You probably have the widest variety of creative options with this size, as there are so many brilliant liner options these days. So sweet!

Baking-cup Cookie
You can either leave these white or decorate the baking cups with stamps, embossing, etc. It's a blank cookie slate!

Coffee-filter Cookie (love this!)
This is my fav of the baked batch. I love how the kraft liners have a natural cookie coloring, and the big size is fun for holding larger treats (Rolos, Kisses, etc.).

Tip: The trick with making these is to layer a few (3-5) liners first. A single liner is just too flimsy at this size. 

Fortunes
The real love comes in the fortune. This is how your cookie will whisper its sweet nothings, after all.

This paper from Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper called my name when it came time to channel the spirits and predict the future. After all, who can be board with a wood-grain fortune?

I simply inserted a portion of the 12x12 paper in my typewriter and let my future-predicting powers take hold. ;)

I decided to add a few shiny doodads to my slips, using heart gems and pearls from Making Memories.

Cupid Creation #2: Insta-Envelope & Treat Bags
The gift of photos is sure to make anybody's day. So print those Instagram pics or your traditional 4x6 prints, and send them off to make somebody happy.

You can use a basic photo envelope, or you can mix things up a bit with a canvas carrier, like this envelope from Canvas Corp.

I simply used a Sharpie Stained marker to dress the envelope up a bit. And I'll probably put it in a real mailer before sending it off. (Not sure the postman would take this one as is. You know, with a hand-drawn stamp and all.)

I did the same on a few small canvas bags that I picked up at the party store (Zurcher's, if you're local).

Cupid Creation #3: Shake, Shake, Shake, Señora
This is one Valentine that knows how to shake it!

Simply fill a glassine bag, like this one from SRM Stickers, with a Valentine or photo (or both), toss in some sequins and punched hearts, and seal the deal using your sewing machine.

The glassine approach is nice, because the sweet face(s) within peeks out, and the shaking action is visible when the sequins and hearts do their thang!

For this project, I went with the new Studio Calico sequins, which have a rich, delicious color that shows well through the bag. Less saturated sequins may not work as well. 

Cupid Creation #4: Soda What?
On this soda bottle built for two, you can share a sip with your sweetheart.

Simply attach decorative straws to the bottle using decorative tape.

If you want to take a note from Cupid's book, turn the straws into arrows using scrapbook paper, a heart punch, and a little decorative tape.

Simply punch a heart from patterned paper and attach it to the straw using tape. Don't use glue, because you don't want to contaminate the straw. Basic washi tape removes easily without damaging the straw. 

Offer a word of love by punching a third heart and attaching it where the arrows cross. I used chalkboard paper from My Mind's Eye and a white Gelly Roll pen from Sakura to create this chalk-style look. The heart punch I used is from Fiskars.

Cupid Creation #5: Toast of the Bubbly 
Don't burst your Valentine's bubble; raise a glass to him/her and tell them how much you care.

Sure, you can fill a basic champagne flute with gumballs (it is "bubbly," after all), but where's the crafting fun in that? Instead, punch bitty hearts and attach them to a plastic flute, sold where paper cups are found (or in the Valentine's section at Harmons).

I have a serious crush on the Glitter Sheets from Cosmo Cricket. It's self adhesive, thin enough to punch with ease, and it adds sparkle without glitter going everywhere. Seriously, it's the best of all glitter worlds! The bitty heart punch is from Michaels.

I wanted to fill this with gum balls, but I couldn't find them in cute colors (a deal breaker for me), so I went with sour balls. The look of bubble gum remains in tact, and the colors feel festive. Just a tip in case you can't find the right gum.

Tag time. I used a wood veneer heart tag from Freckled Fawn and my trusty white gel pen. Have I told it lately I love it?

That's a whole lotta love. I hope you're feeling the flutters in your stomach as you think about which treat to create for your sweet.

But wait, there's more!
I have more projects to share, so I invite you to check back here on Monday for more Cupid Creations. In the meantime, it's almost showtime. Grab some popcorn and tune in to my segment on Studio 5 today at 1 on channel 5. (Or watch it here.)

Thanks, loves! Your blog visits always make my heart so happy.

Cheers!


Oh, and if it's the two-tone heart project today's Studio 5 segment, I have a complete tutorial here.

For arrow-sucker instructions, check out this post.