Do you love the simple sweetness of Valentine’s Day but not all the commercialism it brings? Here are 40 DIY vintage Valentine’s Day Decoration Ideas that will give you a moment to add an old timey touch of romance around your home with no or very little cost.
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Why Should You Make Your Own Valentine’s Day Décor
I want to share the simple, vintage lifestyle message at Our Vintage Bungalow. No, I’m not at all opposed to shopping in “real” stores, but all too often that’s our first option. Creating one (or several) of these DIY vintage Valentine’s Day decoration ideas is a great way to
- Foster creativity
- Make special crafting memories that involve your whole family
- Attain simplicity in life
- Not have to store in tubs tons of off-season decorations
- Give you the satisfaction of making something unique
- Save money
- Teaches our kids not to buy stuff, stuff and more stuff
- Creates peace in your heart by not running everywhere for the newest trend
- Still have a beautiful and “new” Valentine’s Day decorations
- Learn and teach your kids creativity and crafting skills
- Experiment without the worry of wasting money
Where To Get Supplies for These Old Fashioned Valentine Craft Ideas
I’ll be honest, many of these ideas require craft supplies. You can choose to purchase the supplies at a retail store. But before you jump into the car or on your phone to buy all you need, STOP. Think about what you already have or maybe something you can source from nature. Be intentional about your choice and enjoy the calmness that intentionality brings.
- Do you already have those craft supplies tucked in a closet or basement?
- Can you choose a Valentine’s Day idea with items you can find in the woods or a friend’s yard?
- Can you find supplies at an estate sale, garage sale or thrift store?
- I hope this list sparks your creativity and brings the joy of simplicity to your home or Valentine’s Day party this year.
Supplies Needed for DIY Vintage Valentine’s Day Decoration Ideas
Below is a general list of supplies you will need for your home’s simple romantic look. (Don’t forget to shop your home first. Then go to thrift stores, Dollar Tree and antique malls. Then Amazon or Hobby Lobby last. The goal is simplicity and sustainability!)
- String, twine or yarn
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Embroidery or regular needle (depending on item)
- Wire cutters
Other than the above, a unique supply list will be included for each of the DIY vintage Valentine’s Day decoration ideas.
1. DIY Valentine’s Day Wreath with Wood Slices
Supplies:
- 14” embroidery hoop
- Wood slices
- 2 Large English Roses or Peonies (real or faux)
- Eucalyptus
- Hot glue gun
- XOXO foil letters or stickers
2. Simple DIY Twig Heart Decorations
Supplies:
- Twigs
- Hot glue gun
- Twine
- Scissors
3. DIY Cupid Arrows and Quiver
Supplies:
- ¼ inch wood dowels
- Pencil sharpener
- Gold paint
- Glitter
- Card stock (or thin cardboard)
- Arrow and heart template (found on website link at title)
- Feathers
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Tan canvas cloth
- Empty pop bottle
- Mod Podge
- Gold thread
- Gold cord
- Needle
4. Shop Your Home for Red, Pink and White Vignettes
In my opinion, the perfect way to decorate my home for holidays and seasons is to simply “shop my home” (or the thrift store) for everyday or decorative items in your favorite colors. Once gathered and arranged, red books, a red and white cup and white vases with pink flowers can be a beautiful (and cheap) way to add Valentine’s Day décor. The great thing is that you don’t have to store these kinds of decorations the rest of the year.
Supplies:
- Any items in your home in pink white or red accents (ie, vintage treasures, old books, dishes and pitchers, candles and brass candlesticks, eucalyptus branches)
- Free Printable Vintage Valentine’s Day cards found HERE
5. Lacey Vintage Book Page Table Runner
This is the perfect way to add a touch of affordable vintage class to your dining room table in preparation for your romantic dinner!
Supplies:
Directions:
- Measure your table length.
- Using an Exacto knife, cut pages out of the vintage book. Cut as many pages as necessary to run your table length, double page.
- Lay out your pages upside down and in a double row on the floor.
- Using strips of tape, secure the pages together.
- Punch the lace pattern on the edge of your runner.
6. Valentine DIY Bird Feeder Hearts
Supplies:
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp bird seed
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup water
- Heart cookie cutter
- Drinking straw
- Ribbon or string for hanging
7. Vintage Valentine Card Banner
Supplies:
- Free Printable Vintage Cards for Valentine’s Day HERE
- Red and white string
- Small clothespins
- Scissors
8. Grapevine Heart Wreath
Supplies:
9. Vintage Typewriter Vignette
If you happen to own a vintage typewriter, for sure get that out for one of your amazing DIY vintage decor ideas! Set it on a side table, desk or shelf, roll in a piece of parchment paper and start typing a love letter…but leave the letter in the typewriter. And don’t forget to add a white vase of pink flowers and some free printable vintage Valentines cards HERE to lay around.
Supplies:
- Vintage typewriter
- Parchment stationary paper
- White vase and flowers
- Free printable vintage Valentine’s Day cards HERE
- Matte paper (for printing free vintage Valentine’s Day cards)
10. Floral Heart Wreath Backdrop
Supplies:
Dry, faux, or wax flowers and greenery
- Long branch
- Fishing string
- Small nails
11. Felt Valentines Day Envelope
Supplies:
- Pattern from Rebekah L. Smith
- 8 x 8 piece of wool
- Cotton fabric
- Cardboard
- Velvet Ribbon
- Button
- Embroidery floss
- Freezer paper
- Pins
- Needles
12. Vintage White Vases or Pitcher with Pink and White Flowers
This is pretty simple and self-explanatory, but the simple Valentine’s Day decorations are what we do best at Our Vintage Bungalow. “Shop” around your house for vintage white vessels such as vases, pitchers bowls or clear glass bottles. And then simply fill them with flowers, greenery and baby’s breath! I love using eucalyptus as greenery because it’s dried (but can be put in water), lasts so long and can be used in every season.
Supplies:
- Vintage white milk glass vases, Ironstone pitchers, bowls and medicine bottles (if you don’t have any, check your local thrift store. Mine ALWAYS has milk glass white vases available.)
- Pink, white and red flowers (preferably unique flowers from Trader Joe’s)
- Eucalyptus
13. Wood Bead and Pink Tassle Valentine Garland
Supplies:
- Pink yarn in varying colors
- Cardboard piece
- Scissors
- Thread
- Needle
- Wood beads
- Pink Felt
14. Nail Polish Valentine Hearts
Supplies:
- Wire
- Red or pink nail polish
- Disposable condiment takeout cup
- Wire cutters
- Regular cork or wine bottle cork
15. Valentine Initial Tree Carving
Supplies:
- Thick and short tree branch with flat bottom
- Wood burning pen
- Red glitter paper
- Hole punch
- Red and white string
16. DIY Valentine’s Day Decoration Embroidered Wall Hanging
Supplies:
- Embroidery template from Pretty Life Girls
- Linen Fabric
- Embroidery hoop
- Embroidery floss (check instructions for actual floss colors)
- Embroidery needle
- Wooden dowels
- Baker’s twine
17. DIY Fabric Hearts Sachet
Supplies:
- Felt
- Fabric for center of heart
- Fusible webbing
- Embroidery floss
- Lavender (or fiberfill if you don’t want it as a sachet)
- Ribbon
- Pattern for heart from Flamingo Toes
18. 3D Paper Heart Garland
Supplies:
19. DIY Valentine’s Day Mailboxes
Supplies:
- Poster board or cardstock
- Foam board
- Mailbox Template available from Jen Woodhouse HERE
- Spray adhesive glue
- Hot glue gun
- Craft candle holders
- Small, thin scrap plywood
- Fabric, felt or paper
- Brad fasteners
- Decorative embellishments
20. Baby and Kid Clothes Puffy Heart Garland
I love decorating with items that personally have meaning. What better fabric to use for a puffy Valentine’s heart garland than some of your kids’ baby clothing? Now, you have to mentally be able to cut these precious clothes up, but if you can, the result will be something you will enjoy more than baby clothes stuffed in a storage tub.
Follow a simple fabric heart garland tutorial HERE and just use clothing/fabric that has special meaning to you.
Supplies:
- Your kids’old clothing (or other scrap pieces of cotton fabric)
- Poly-fil
- Cardboard heart (trace a heart onto cardboard and cut out)
- Marker
- Scissors
- Pins
- Pinking shears
- Twine
- Sewing machine
21. DIY Clay Hearts
Supplies:
- Clay
- Parchment paper
- Heart shaped cookie cutter
- Heart stamps
- Twine
- Straw
- Glitter
- Paint
- Paint Brush
- Glue
- Rolling Pin
- Scissors
22. Peg People (Jenga Block) Family or Couple
Supplies:
- Wood blocks (or old Jenga blocks)
- Round wood balls
- Small wood hearts
- Paint
- Hot glue gun
- Sandpaper
- Twine
23. Flower Seed Paper
Supplies:
- Flower seeds
- Old towels
- Construction paper
- Screen or mesh material
- Food processor or blender
- Hot water
- Heart shaped cookie cutter
24. Multicolored Yarn Heart Garland
Supplies:
- Colored yarn
- Heart template traced on cardboard and cut out
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Assorted wood beads
- Twine
25. Painted Valentine Book Bundles
Supplies:
- Old books to paint
- Paint in various shades of pink and white
- Paint brush
- Printed Valentine’s theme book titles (design and print “book titles” on Canva)
- Wood stain
- Glue stick
- Twine
26. Doily Heart Garland
Supplies:
27. Leftover Craft Supply Hearts
Supplies:
- Leftover craft supplies or nature items such as buttons, twine, tree bark, dried flowers
- Cardboard heart (trace a heart onto cardboard and cut out)
- Hot glue gun
28. Glitter Heart Book Page Garland
Supplies:
- Old book you can tear pages out of
- Paper cutter (or scissors and ruler)
- Stapler
- Elmer’s craft glue
- Small paint brush
- Red glitter
- Hot glue gun
- Baker’s twine
29. Red and White Butcher Twine Tied to Key Wrapped around Vintage Glass Bottle Vase
Supplies:
30. “Letters” or “Gifts” with Greenery and Red Sealing Wax
These pretend love letters and gifts would be fabulous to set on a bookshelf or mantel for a simple touch of vintage Valentine’s Day charm. Wrap a box with brown kraft paper or get a kraft paper envelope. Wrap with twine. Stick in some greenery such as eucalyptus or ivy. The use red wax and a seal for a gorgeous finish.
Supplies:
- Brown Kraft paper (for “gifts”) or Kraft paper envelopes (for “letters)
- Small boxes (for “gifts”)
- Twine
- Eucalyptus
- Red sealing wax
- Seal stamp
31. Pom Pom and Heart Valentine Garland
Supplies:
- Large pom poms (The tutorial shows how to make them. I personally prefer to buy them.)
- Scissors
- Red felt
- Heart template (trace heart onto cardboard and cut out)
- Poly-fill batting
- String
- Needle
32. Minimalist Valentine DIY Hoop Wreath
Supplies:
- Gold hoop wreath form
- Greenery (I prefer eucalyptus as it’s reall but dried)
- White felt heart stickers
- Hot glue gun
33. Yarn Dream Catcher Heart
Supplies:
34. Salt Dough Hearts
Supplies:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- ½ cup water
- White craft paint
- Paint brush
- Heart cookie cutters
- Alphabet stamps
- Wood stamps
- Wire or string
- Wire cutters
35. Needle Felt Heart Garland
Supplies:
36. Braided Heart Garland
Supplies:
- Yarn in your choice of color
- Cardboard
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
37. Ticking Stripe Fabric Heart Wreath for your Front Door
Supplies:
- 1 - 2 yards ticking fabric
- ½ – 1 yard contrasting fabric
- Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
- Wire heart form
38. DIY Wood Bead Heart
Supplies:
39. Embroidery Rose Art
Supplies:
- Red and green embroidery floss
- 7 x 7 28 count Belfast linen
- 4 ½ inch embroidery hoop
- Size 24 tapestry needle
- Embroidery scissors
40. Pressed Flower Soy Wax Sachet
Supplies:
Remember, the goal of this list of 40 DIY vintage Valentine’s Day décor ideas is not to immediately go out and buy $30 worth of supplies for holiday décor that you’ll store 12 months out of the year. Shop your home and see what you already have. Go to your local thrift store, they almost always have craft supplies and Valentine’s Day items after Christmas. At the very least, you can find some red, pink and white non-Valentine’s Day items that would look great grouped together. And, yes, then purchase the supplies that you need to finish your chosen Valentine craft.
May you have a wonderfully simple Valentine season where you remember to take a little bit of time to enjoy the simple things, love the people around you and take a moment to create.
Happy crafting and vintage decorating with these DIY vintage Valentine’s Day decoration ideas!
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Pin for later 40 DIY Vintage Valentines Day Décor Ideas
