It's almost Valentine's Day, and maybe you're already seeing red: Facebook invites to Valentine's bashes, Instagram uploads of the perfect concert tickets (aka the "best gift ever"), couples changing their profile pictures to oh-so-cute selfies with each other and so on.
Cupid is coming to a News Feed near you, and you're going to have to decide how to act. Sure, you could stick with the basics — flowers, chocolate and the like — but if you want to really impress that special someone, you're going to have to kick it up a notch. And all you have to do is sign in to your social media accounts.
See also: 11 DIY Valentines to Make Your True Love
You, your significant other and your friends all live online, so why not use that to your gift-giving advantage? We've compiled six social media-themed DIY projects below — ranked in order of difficulty from easiest to hardest — that could transform the schmaltz from your pages into romantic game-changers.
Because it's not just the thought that counts — it's the thought and effort.
For this gift, a lot of the work is already done for you. If you know someone who hoards quotes on Pinterest or Tumblr, a wall quote decal is perfect. The toughest part will be the digging, but after you've picked the winning phrase, send it over to Wall Quotes, Wall Written or a comparable service, and customize the fonts and sizes to your liking. Bonus points if you can slap it on without them noticing, you ninja.
If you aren't into pasting things on walls, you can stencil the quote on fabric instead.
If you're often reminiscent, comb through messages, chats or emails for meaningful nuggets and tête-à-têtes. Maybe you said something special, or perhaps they mentioned something memorable.
Depending on the patience of your beloved, the bigger the book the better. (Otherwise, quit kidding yourself and move on to the next option in this list.)
You'll essentially need paper and binder rings if you want to do a lo-fi, homespun version. If you want to make it snazzy, you can leave the binding to the pros.
Facebook is 10 years old, so if you've been on the social network for even a couple of years, chances are you've amassed quite the photo collection.
The "See Friendship" feature will come in handy here. Once you've narrowed down your selects, you can print and start scrapbooking -- or you can outsource the work.
Bid farewell to Hallmark, and put your curation and GIF-making skills to work. This is your chance to cobble together one big, interactive card.
On Tumblr, the sky is the limit. You can stuff a private page with video clips, pictures, musings and GIFs -- if you don't know how to make gifs, we have an explainer and resources.
Going the secret Pinterest board route might require you to sacrifice some versatility, but that doesn't mean you won't have options. The secret board is the perfect place to remember, celebrate and plan ahead -- in the site's trademark staggered, streamlined way.
Hey, overachiever. Remember those Google Chrome ads? If not, there's a refresher above.
The tear-jerking, heartstring-tugging nature of the ads combined with the adept laptop-screen video work is what really drives this one home. Of course, you don't have to use Google products or your laptop screen to make a sincere video.
But for this one to work, you will need a stockpile of YouTube clips, Vines, Instagram videos or other photos, as well as some supercutting patience.
This is a more cost-efficient -- albeit time-consuming -- way to enlarge your social media pics. The idea here is to transfer one of your significant other's favorite photos onto a slab of wood. Classy, right? This project entails laser-printing one of your pics, cutting the perfect-sized piece of wood and then going to your local arts-and-crafts store to pick up more gel medium and mod podge than you've ever needed before.
This idea -- comparatively speaking -- is the most adaptable of the six; it can be romantic enough for your significant other but tame enough for someone who's more of a friend.
But if, after reviewing the steps in the link above, you don’t want to start a futile project or waste a trip to Home Depot’s wood cutter, companies such as Printstagram and Plak That have you and your hopes of grandeur covered.
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