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Saturday, February 8, 2014

DIY Valentines Project: I Love You Because Sign for Less Than $10!

DIY Valentines Gift Ideas for less than $10  - I love you because sign

Phew! Can you believe that Valentines Day is less than a week away?! If you're still scratching your head for gift ideas, worry not, because I've come up with the quickest, easiest and quite possibly the cheapest DIY Valentines Gift Idea that's super cute. 

Last year, I made this DIY Date Night Jar for Valentines Day which proved to be incredibly successful and this year, I wanted to come up with another personalised gift idea that would actually get used. 

A while ago, whilst we were still living 10,000 miles apart, I made Jesse a "Reasons I love you" book which he loved but as it's a book it tends to sit on the bookshelf and rarely get read unless I'm writing a new reason in the spare pages - so I put on my thinking cap. 

First I thought about a whiteboard - but that wasn't going to look very cute on our dresser. Then I remembered that I've used photo frames as dry erase/whiteboards before and I decided that would be a much cuter idea.

DIY Valentines Project for less than $10  - I love you because sign

 I'd seen this super cute House Photo Frame at Kmart for just $5 and knew it would be perfect for this project and also our room. It stands up on it's own, holds a 4x6" print nice and snug and can easily be written on with a whiteboard marker. 

But let me show you how to make it and give you the FREE printables! >>

Easy DIY Valentines Gift - Cheap Handmade Valentines Gift Ideas


What You Need For This Project:
  • A photo frame
    I used this House Photo Frame from Kmart ($5), however, any frame is fine. You can use one with a stand or you can hang it on the wall - just make sure you can reach it easily to write on it. 
  • I love you because... print (FREE Printables Below!)
    I printed my prints using Snapfish, which is affiliated with Kmart. I ordered my prints online here and then picked them up at my local Kmart store. I printed a couple of the designs and it only cost me 60 cents for four 4x6" prints with express 1 hour pickup. Just make sure that your print is the correct size for your frame (the frame should tell you what size photo it holds). 
  • A dry erase/whiteboard markerI just picked one up from our local dollar store (for $2.50)
All you have to do is slip your print into your photo frame, seal everything up and you're ready to write on the glass/plastic with your whiteboard marker.

My Total Cost for the Project: $8.10 - how can you beat that?!

Free Valentines Printable - DIY Valentines Project
Click on the images to be taken to the full sized image to download.
Note, these are in 4x6" format ready to print


Moroccan Style Blue                           Moroccan Style Pink
 Free Valentines Printable - Moroccan Blue Printable - DIY Valentines Gift Free Valentines Printable - Moroccan Pink Printable - DIY Valentines Gift 
Moroccan Style Yellow                                       Fabric Style
Free Valentines Printable - Moroccan Yellow Printable - DIY Valentines Gift Free Valentines Printable - Fabric Printable - DIY Valentines Project
Chevron Pink                                                      Chevron Blue
Free Valentines Printable - Chevron Pink Printable - DIY Valentines Project Free Valentines Printable - Chevron Blue Printable - DIY Valentines Project
Chevron Yellow                                      Plain Paper Scrunch
Free Valentines Printable - Chevron Yellow Printable - DIY Valentines Project Free Valentines Printable - Paper Scrunch Printable - Handmade Valentines Gift
Damask Pink                                                      Damask White
Free Valentines Printable - Damask Pink Printable - Handmade Valentines Gift Free Valentines Printable - Damask White Printable - Handmade Valentines Gift

You can't get any easier than that - can you?!

But tell me, what's the best Valentines Gift you ever received? 
And what's one thing you absolutely love about your significant other? (or Yourself!)





27 comments:

  1. i tried to make this and it was such a flop! it kept separating and didn't truly carmalize...like...the fat is floating on top of the golden gooey part ;/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kristy @ Southern In-LawFebruary 8, 2014 at 5:25 PM

    Hey Naomi, that is so odd! What type of coconut milk did you use? I know some brands of coconut milk can split if they're not premium coconut milk. It definitely shouldn't be separating like that - we tested the recipe three times in three different pans and they all worked perfectly.

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  3. Love it! So cute!

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  4. Kristy @ Southern In-LawFebruary 9, 2014 at 7:24 AM

    Thank you, lovely!

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  5. Kristy @ Southern In-LawFebruary 9, 2014 at 4:00 PM

    Hi Kyera, just a pinch of baking soda and salt! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is so late but when people get married in Hispanic countries, the kids get their Father Last Name and the Mother Last name. For example, your children will be: First Name-Middle Name Jones Sayer. The first last name (paternal) is consider the main one. So if your child decides to be a doctor, she will be Dr. Jones. Sometimes, when there is doctors with the same last name, then they're call by both "Dr. Jones Sayer". And the families are known as both last names. Not just the "Jones family", but the "Jones Sayer family. :)

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  7. Kristy @ Southern In-LawFebruary 10, 2014 at 11:49 AM

    Oh wow, that's so interesting - and definitely a sensible way to do it!

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  8. I'm sorry I didn't get back to reply sooner...I forgot I had actually commented hehe. I used Thai Coconut full fat. I'll try it again sometime soon and let you know if it turns out better or not. :)

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  9. Is it ok to substitute the maple syrup for honey?

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  10. Sorry, I do understand it will not make it a vegan recipe then.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kristy @ Southern In-LawApril 10, 2014 at 6:36 AM

    Hi Stephanie,
    To be completely honest, I'm not sure as I haven't tried it - but I'm going to say yes as it's the same principle - your caramel may just be a little bit thicker.


    If you try it out, let me know how it goes! xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. So disappointed. Its not sugar free. I can't use it. I hate this kind of fake stuff.

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  13. Kristy @ Southern In-LawApril 12, 2014 at 6:52 AM

    Hi Boris, what do you mean by "fake stuff"? This recipe only uses natural ingredients and no artificial sugars/flavours etc.

    ReplyDelete
  14. We just made this today and it turned out SO good! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. It's definitely a keeper!

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  15. Kristy @ Southern In-LawApril 14, 2014 at 11:30 AM

    Oh fabulous! I'm so glad you loved it! xx

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  16. I want to know if I pre make this for tomorrow are their any special heating instructions?

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  17. Kristy @ Southern In-LawMay 3, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    Hi Deven, just warm it up in a saucepan on the stove over a low heat (so you don't cook it any more and just heat it up!)

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  18. Hi! This recipe sounds so yummy and perfect for a Mother's breakfast I was planning on making! Just one question- does this have a predominantly coconutty flavor? Unfortunately my dad doesn't like coconut! Thanks.

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  19. Kristy @ Southern In-LawMay 11, 2014 at 7:57 AM

    Hi Cassidy, it does have an underlying coconut flavour so someone that doesn't like coconut would probably pick that up (my sister doesn't like coconut and even the slightest hint of coconut flavour she can taste) so your Dad might not be a fan!

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  20. Hi. This looks so good but mine didnt work either. How long should it take? I had mine on for about 40 mins and only slightly thickened and then just started to seperate. Still tastes yum, but certainly not caramel.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kristy @ Southern In-LawMay 13, 2014 at 11:51 AM

    Oh no, what a shame! What kind of coconut milk did you use? The other commenter tried it again with a different type of canned reduced fat coconut milk and it worked perfectly so I definitely think it has a lot to do with the coconut milk that you use.


    It also shouldn't take 40 minutes - you want it on quite a high heat so that it boils and it will take a maximum of 10 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  22. thanks for your reply. it was just a regular organic coconut milk, but will definitely try again. my kids ate the jar in two days regardless :-)

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  23. Maple syrup has significant sugars (36g in this recipe), so for people who are looking to limit sugar (or carbs), this isn't a great sub for caramel. I don't think that's what you were trying to do with this receipe, though. However, when a diabetic, for example, see "sugar free" we are hoping it's a no or low carb sub.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Which quinoa do you use? The soft flakes or the harder little rice-like ones?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi there, for this recipe you want to use actual whole quinoa - not the quinoa flakes.

    ReplyDelete

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