Most people are trying to watch what they spend very closely these days and the thought of Valentine’s Day so soon after Christmas is enough to make you crazy. Not to worry, the What A Flock! team is here to help you out. Each holiday you will see some crafty ideas that use materials you already have in a blog entry aptly titled Use What You’ve Got (UWYG). In each UWYG post you will get inspiration and ideas that you can translate to most crafts. If the idea is for paper, use your fabric stash or polymer clay instead. Make jewelry? Embellish crafts with your extra beads.  There are lots of ways to use the ideas you will find in a UWYG post.

Let’s face it, sometimes you just need to buy something and the UWYG post will let you in on cost effective materials that can be used for other projects. Don’t feel trapped into buying Holiday specific products again. We’ll let you know where to get everyday materials at great prices that will fill your needs.

How-To UWYG. Start with the message you are trying to convey and determine what is right for your recipient based upon age and relationship. Keep this in mind when making choices for the rest of your selections. You can use any color palette that coordinates with red or pink. As far as pattern, the sky is the limit, just keep in mind the feeling you want to convey. A busy pattern with bright colors are more suited to a child’s card with a fun message; while a muted color palette and cleaner lines are better for adults. For that special someone look for a pattern that has curving lines that will convey sensuality or desire.  You can create your own holiday icons by printing free clip-art from the internet to use as a pattern. Make your icons from colored paper or trace them on regular paper and color in with pens or markers. Your options are almost endless if you just take a new approach to how you see your supplies. From now own start asking yourself “How can I use this to make an item for _____ holiday?” In a very short time you will start to see your supplies in a whole new way.

For Valentine’s Day we have chosen a pad of scrapbook paper that we bought at Wal-Mart for $4.00. It has ten sheets of paper and over 100 punch-out shapes and letters. The color palette is black, cream and light green with a floral print theme. We paired this with matching paper from our stash along with a little pink to make a variety of great items shown below.