I created a DIY sheet music Valentine’s Day box for the upcoming holiday, perfect for anyone who loves the aesthetic of sheet music.
Decorating your own card box for Valentine’s Day is a fun way to add a personal touch to the holiday. For kids and adults alike who enjoy making or coloring their own Valentines, decorating a Valentine card box is right up your alley. You know that I’m crazy about crafting with sheet music. It should come as no surprise that I decided to make a DIY sheet music Valentine’s Day box. You can use this same concept with dictionary pages, vintage textbook pages, vintage hymns, or any other book or music pages of your choosing.
I love the DIY sheet music Valentine’s Day box for kids and teachers alike. It’s a fun project for kids who will be collecting Valentines with their school classes or elsewhere (i.e., a playgroup, a neighborhood Valentine’s Day party). It’s also a fun project for teachers who will have students distributing Valentines and who anticipate receiving Valentines themselves. I absolutely would have put together a sheet music Valentine’s Day box for myself during my teaching days.
Happy crafting and happy Valentine’s Day!
Supplies for the DIY sheet music Valentine’s Day box
- One plain Valentine card box or an old shoebox. The boxes I used for this tutorial measure 11″ x 7.5″ x 4.5″ and 8″ x 5.5″ x 4.” I have a few resources for Valentine card boxes below.
- New or vintage sheet music. I used 3-4 sheets for each of my Valentine boxes. I have the resources I used linked below.
- Paper cutter. You can cut the sheet music by hand, but using a paper cutter makes the job much simpler.
- Heart stencils and/or paper punches. I used the following tools for my boxes: Fiskars heart template, 5/8″ heart punch, 1″ heart punch, and 1 1/2″ heart punch.
- Felt rectangles, scrapbook paper, and/or patterned card stock for the hearts. I’ve linked my paper resources below.
- Heart stamp and ink pad (optional)
- Scrapbooker’s glue or other wrinkle-free paper glue
- Fabric scissors
- Paper scissors
- Pencil
- Acrylic spray (optional)
Valentine boxes
For this tutorial, I used the small white mailbox and large white mailbox from Michaels. You can also find plain white Valentine boxes from Target and Oriental Trading. Michaels and Target both carry boxes in other colors. Please note that Valentine boxes are seasonal items. Availability is limited and subject to change without notice.
Sheet music
For the 11″ x 7.5″ and 4.5″ box, I used large-format sheet music that I created specifically for this project. Standard-sized sheet music isn’t wide enough. [Download your large-format sheet music.] Collaging several standard-sized sheets works perfectly for a box this size, too.
For the 8″ x 5.5″ x 4″ box, I used vintage sheet music pages. You get early access to my vintage sheet music pages for this project. [Download your vintage sheet music pages.] I’ll be releasing them officially along with vintage sheet music digital collage sheets next month.
I explain how to extract and download the ZIP folders in my vintage dictionary pages post. This link takes you right to the directions you need.
Any new or vintage sheet music will work for this project. I use All Piano Scores – Chopin for the vast majority of my sheet music projects. The size box you choose and exact sheet music you’re using will dictate how many sheet music pages you need.
Patterned paper
The patterned papers I used for the boxes include the following.
- Valentine’s-Day themed dictionary pages (You’ll need the square templates, available here.)
- Weathered aqua and pink wood paper from the Far Far Hill’s Old Wood Kit
DIY sheet music Valentine’s Day box instructions
For the instructions, I’m using the 11″ x 7.5″ x 4.5″ box and the large-format sheet music.
Grab your plain Valentine box. If you’re using an old shoebox, use an exacto knife to cut a letter slot in the box top.
Collect or print the sheet music of your choosing.
Use a paper cutter to cut the sheet music to size for your Valentine box. I purposely trimmed my sheet music short enough to leave a white box edge all around each piece. You can leave a white border or have your sheet music go right up to the edges of the box.
Trace and cut out a hole for the Valentine slot in the top of the box.
Use the scrapbook glue to adhere the sheet music to the box. Outline each piece. Don’t fill in the entire sheet of music with glue or it will wrinkle. Start at one edge of the music and slowly smooth it into place. You may need to add more glue by the time you get to the final edge.
Allow each piece of sheet music to dry completely before moving on to the next piece to minimize the risk of wrinkles. Scrapbookers glue dries in just a couple of minutes.
Trace and cut out felt and paper hearts. If you like, you can also stamp and cut out a few stamped hearts, too. I recommend using hearts in at least three different sizes. I used about 50 hearts to decorate this 11″ x 7.5″ x 4.5″ box (and about 40 hearts to decorate the 8″ x 5.5″ x 4″ box also pictured in this post). The size of the hearts and the aesthetic you desire for your Valentine box will dictate the exact number of hearts you need.
Use the scrapbookers glue to adhere the hearts to the box and lid. Work slowly, gluing 1-2 hearts and allowing them to dry completely before moving on to the next hearts to minimize wrinkling.
Take care in how you line up the hearts where the lid closes over the base. You want the arrangement of the hearts on the box to fit with the arrangement of the hearts on the edge of the lid. You also want to limit the number of felt hearts right where the lid closes over the base. The box lids I used do fit over the felt hearts on my boxes. But I would limit this occurrence whenever possible as it isn’t ideal for the fit.
Optional: If you want to increase the durability of your box and minimize the risk of the sheet music and hearts getting torn or damaged, give your Valentine box a couple of coats of acrylic spray. Always use acrylic spray in a well-ventilated area. Wait a few minutes between applying coats, and allow it to set fully before handling your box.
Your new sheet music Valentine’s Day box is ready to be filled with Valentines!
I also made an 8″ x 5.5″ x 4″ box with vintage sheet music pages. I love the aesthetic of both new and vintage sheet music for DIY Valentine’s Day boxes.
[Disclaimer: There are a few affiliate links in this post. Thanks for your support!]
Did you make a sheet music Valentine’s Day box?
I want to see it! Tag your images #RoseClearfield on Instagram or Twitter or post a photo to my Facebook page.
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More DIY Valentine’s Day projects:
Head to the sheet music section of the blog for all of my DIY tutorials using new and vintage sheet music. I have projects for home decor, holiday projects, and greeting cards.
