When the resourceful gals at Recessionista asked us to come up with our favorite DIY projects, health tricks, and other goodies for their readers to give themselves for Valentine's Day, we fell totally in love with the idea of spending February 14th pampering yourself. Check out the original post here, and add Recessionista to your reader for more goodness on being both thrifty and fabulous.
Gone are the days of feeling like a Cathy comic strip as a single gal on Valentine’s Day. Use Cupid’s day of love to treat yourself, from upping your style game to reinstating a daily dose of creativity for 2012.
1. Hot Chevron Hoops: Chevron is chic, hot, and sure to turn heads. Update an old pair of hoops with this simple DIY — all you need is duct tape!
2. DIY Audio Ear Muffs: According to the groundhog, we still have quite a bit of winter ahead of us. Bring the party rock to your daily commute, no matter how cold it is.
Make The Ultimate Accessory Organizer
Speaking of accessories, it’s time to get all those baubles in check. And while you’re at it, tidy up your apartment with one (or all) of these insanely clever ways to get organized.
4. Add Color To Cords & Cables: At Brit HQ, we’re firm believers in the fact that a colorful home is a happy one. Infuse a few of your favorite hues into those boring black and white camera, phone and computer cords with our Friendship Cords tutorial.
Use Your Phone To Get In Shape
No, we’re not suggesting getting a super heavy iPhone case to build wrist strength (though, that’s not a bad idea either). These digital fitness apps are legit, and are just the thing you need to master the 5 Minute Plank.
Do a Juice Cleanse
If you’re looking to take things further than a bit of fitness on the go, go for the juice cleanse. Perhaps your resolutions haven’t quite stuck, or you simply need to hit reset on your body. If you don’t fancy the pre-packaged cleanses, check out this DIY option by Brit contributor Amanda Cey.
7. Tea Time: It’s time to reinstate tea time. Maybe tea isn’t your thing, but taking a break in the afternoon is hugely beneficial to creative productivity. Hydrate yoursef, get some sunshine, maybe even do a few jumping jacks.
8. Do Something Creative Every Day: If you haven’t checked out our 20 ideas for creative living, now is the time. We love the idea of adding a dose of creativity to your daily routine, from taking a picture of yourself every day to getting creative with your wardrobe.
9. Find Art You Love: Thanks to the Internet, art really is everywhere and can be surprisingly affordable. Use this Valentine’s Day to curate your art collection, whether it’s boning up on contemporary artists on MoMA’s iPhone app or shopping for limited edition prints on 20×200.
10. No Bake Grammy Graham Bon Bons: Come on. You didn’t think we’d round up a dozen different things to do for yourself on Valentine’s Day without including chocolate, did you?
More From Home DIY
Fall is right around the corner, and we're getting amped up for our next session of Selfmade, Brit + Co's 10-week interactive startup school. Designed to help you create a new business or grow your existing one, this course is personally led by Brit + Co founder Brit Morin and co-founder Anjelika Temple, and supported by more than a dozen of the top female entrepreneurs, creatives, and investors in the country. Students receive personalized coaching on everything from how to get out of your comfort zone to how to scale your business, and everything in between. And now, thanks to Office Depot, even more of you can join the course!
For the fall session, we're thrilled to team up with Office Depot to grant 200 FREE scholarship seats to the course. Scholarships are open to US residents, focusing on women of color, women from underserved and underrepresented communities, and women in need of support to help them trail-blaze. After all, we firmly believe that your support system is a huge part of how you achieve greatness, and we are here to cheer all of you on.
To nominate yourself or someone you know for a scholarship, head to our nomination form right here. The deadline for scholarship nominations is September 27th — it's time to take the leap!
Beyond the scholarship, Office Depot is all about helping you accomplish more. Whether it be the start phase, growth phase or keep businesses going phase, Office Depot offers a full suite of business solutions, including services and products, to help you work from anywhere, organize and save time and help build your brand.
So what are you waiting for? Take a chance on yourself and get yourself one step closer to truly being selfmade. Learn more about the Selfmade program, apply for a scholarship and prepare to be inspired :)