easy valentine's day gifts

Usually I spend a lot of time making personalized Valentine's day cards for all of my close friends...but this year I'm a little carded-out so I decided to try something else.  Here are a couple of easy projects that I've done that I hope will inspire you! 
My friends and I are a little bit tea-obsessed--we spend so much time at a local tea house that they all know us (and how we like our tea), and some of us may have tea hoarding problems.  So, I thought something tea related would be perfect.  This project can be a little bit meticulous/time consuming if you don't have a sewing machine, but it's easy enough that you could post yourself in front of the TV tomorrow night and finish them in time for Thursday.  Here's what you need for this project: Coffee filters, embroidery thread, a thick needle, card stock, a pen, scissors, and loose leaf tea (you can also always cut open tea bags and take the tea out).
 Steps // 1: Cut heart shapes out of your coffee filters // 2: Line them up and carefully sew the edges with your embroidery thread (or, if you're lucky, complete this step with a sewing machine and some colored thread) // 3: Before you close up the heart, fill the bag with loose leaf tea // 4:  Thread a short piece of embroidery thread through the top of your tea bag.  Thread the opposite end through your tag, which you will make out of card stock // 5: Write a sweet message to your Valentine on one side of your tag and write the type of tea in the bag on the other side // 6:  Put the tea bags in a pretty bag or tin (see this tutorial for some ideas) and give them to your friends to enjoy!
Another super easy idea is to use embroidery thread to decorate a craft paper bag filled with treats.  Here is a tutorial for making these little baggies. I just filled this one with conversation hearts, but if you have more time you could fill it with these home-made heart gum drops, or you could make a larger bag and give your Valentines delicious heart-shaped baked goods, like these Nutella treats.
Two years ago my roommate and I made a bunch of pink cupcakes and put these little heart labels on them for our friends.  This is a great idea if you have a lot of people that you want to give something to, but don't have much time.  Just cut out heart shapes, write names/messages on them, glue two heart pieces together with a toothpick between them, and stick them in your cupcakes! (credit for this picture goes to my lovely housemate Caroline).

What are you making for your Valentines this year?

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