The history of Valentine’s Day isn’t as touchy-feely as you might think. It’s origins lie in martyrdom and violence, as well as in a pagan Roman festival of fertility. In the Middle Ages, poets and writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized St. Valentine’s day and it started to become customary in parts of Europe to exchange handmade tokens.

Fast forward to now, and Valentine’s Day is a bona fide industry. Millions of dollars are spent annually on flowers, chocolates, cards, and all things heart-shaped. February is a fun occasion to make tokens of affection, and rhinestones are a great way to customize a gift to your loved one or decorations for home or work. We’ve put together some great ideas for Valentine’s Day projects. Pull out your heart-shaped rhinestones and all things red and pink and get to work!

Cards

Old-school Valentine’s gifts came in the form of handmade cards, so why not revive the tradition and update it with rhinestones? There are a few ways you can go with this. If you’re particularly artistic, you can start from scratch and design a beautiful Valentine’s card. For that, you’ll need cardstock (preferably in different patterns or colors), glue, and embellishments.

For card embellishments, you can use stamps, ribbons, stickers, and of course, rhinestones. When it comes to extras, you’re really just limited by your imagination. If you want to make something big and bold, now is the time! If you aren’t great at papercrafts, you can also opt for purchasing a pre-made card and add your own special touches to the card. Find a Valentine’s card with a message you like and then add rhinestones as accents on the card.

You can make patterns out of rhinestones of different shapes and colors, or you can simply adorn the card with little rhinestone hearts. For example, if the card features a night sky, add small, clear rhinestones to the sky for a starry night effect. Don’t forget to add glitter!

Shoes

For many people, Valentine’s Day is an excuse for a special date night and a romantic dinner out. If you are the type of person who loves to take sparkle wherever they go, why not do it in the form of shoes? Blinging up your footwear is a great way to accessorize and add your personality to your Valentine’s outfit.

If you have a pair of heels that haven’t been worn in a while, try applying rhinestones to the heel to create a fun focal point. Alternatively, you could embellish dress shoes by adding rhinestones around the upper edge of the shoe. For a glam/punk rock look, add rhinestones to just the toe for an edgier look.

If you’re more of a casual person, consider jazzing up a pair of sneakers. Bling sneakers can be worn with jeans to make your ensemble a little fancier. Use a combination of colors and shapes to make a pattern that’s all your own!

Valentine’s Centerpiece

If you love to celebrate holidays, a great way to do so is to keep a seasonal centerpiece on the dinner table or mantle. Flowers are great, but they really do have a short lifespan. Make something that can be reused every year!

One type of centerpiece you can create is a vase with “flowers” of hearts on sticks. For our rhinestone purposes, you can add the gems to the vase itself. At craft stores this time of year, it’s not hard to find decorative wooden pieces consisting of hearts on dowels. You can paint the hearts whatever color you desire, then add rhinestones to glam it up! For final touches, apply rhinestones to ribbons and tie the ribbons to the dowels or to the head of the vase.

Another type of centerpiece you can create is essentially a Valentine’s cornucopia basket or clear vase. Fill it with an assortment of rhinestone-covered hearts in different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Charger Plates

Planning a romantic dinner at home? In addition to creating a stunning centerpiece, you can add another layer of elegance to your romantic table setting by using charger plates. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, you may have still seen them at weddings. The charger plate is a decorative element that the place setting rests on. No food ever touches the charger plate, and essentially what it does is provide a backdrop for the table, as well as accent the table setting.

You can find charger plates online and in craft stores, but you may notice that many come in “wedding colors”—namely, gold, silver, and white. Because you don’t have to worry about it being food safe, you can feel free to change the base color with spray paint. From there, you can use rhinestones to adorn the edges of the plate. Some plates are textured or patterned already, so you can use rhinestones to accentuate the pattern, or on an unadorned plate you can create your own patterns.

For Valentine’s Day, try painting the plates red and decorating them with clear or pink rhinestones. Since the base plates are inexpensive, you could actually create charger plates for different seasons!

Candleholders

What’s a romantic dinner without candlelight? To create the perfect setting for a loving dinner at home, try embellishing candleholders. Candles set the mood, and a candleholder adorned with rhinestones allows the flickering light of the flame to bounce and dance off of the facets of the rhinestones.

There are a few ways you can go about this. One is by using votive or tea candleholders. These little lights will look great with rhinestones attached, and you have the flexibility to use whatever shapes and colors you like best. Alternatively, you can find larger candleholders at craft stores and use those to make a bigger statement. Use a combination of round rhinestones in a variety of sizes to create a dynamic look. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of light that reflects off of the glittering gems.

We at the Rhinestone Shop wish you a happy conclusion to winter and a lovely Valentine’s Day with your family, friends, and loved ones. Make sure it’s a sparkly one!