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.

3. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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?

How will you treat yourself this Valentine's Day? Send your ideas our way by leaving a note in the comments below.

Anjelika Temple
As Chief Creative Officer and Founding Partner at Brit + Co, Anjelika Temple brings her voracious consumption of all things creative and colorful to DIY projects, geeky gadgetry finds and more. When she's not DIY-ing her heart out, you'll find her throwing dinner parties with friends or adventuring with her husband David, their daughter Anokhi, and their silly dog Turkey.