Our first experience with concrete, thanks to The Home Depot, was a good one. We kept it simple, and made it all about the ambiance. It left an impression with us, because concrete continues to make the DIY supply list. We never thought we would mix concrete for a Valentine’s Day DIY simply for the idea of creating a heart of stone, but we never thought life would turn out as it did in 2015 either. Life continues to surprise us!

Make some DIY concrete heart magnets with gold gilding this Valentine’s day for friends who truly have hearts of gold.

Materials:

• Quikrete concrete from The Home Depot
• Heart mold 
• disposable cup
• disposable spoon
• Martha Stewart Crafts gilding adhesive
• Martha Stewart Crafts gilding sheets
• Sealant {this or another water-based sealant}
• E-6000 glue
• small magnets, The Home Depot

Directions
Mix 1-2 cups concrete with water. I gradually added water until it was the right consistency, about ¼ cup. Mix thoroughly.

Spray the entire heart mold with cooking spray.

Use a spoon to fill the heart cavities with concrete. Make the top of the hearts as even and as smooth as you can.

Once all the hearts are filled, wipe the top of the mold {in between the hearts} with water and a paper towel. Let the hearts dry for 5-12 hours.

Push the hearts out of the molds – they should just ‘pop’ out.

Wipe the hearts with a dry paper towel to get the excess gravel off.

Apply E-6000 to small magnets and glue to the back of the hearts. Let sit for an hour.

Apply gilding adhesive with random strokes. Follow the directions on the packaging, but you will have to wait until the adhesive dries {when it turns from white to clear, its tacky and ready}.

Press gold leaf sheets onto the clear spots.

Let the gold dry for 2 hours, and then use a soft brush to brush off the excess gold.

Seal the hearts.

Hooray, you made concrete hearts of gold. Now you can hang a pretty printable from the magnets like this Love You one from Avery Street Design.

Do you mom’s crave quiet moments where you can sit and sip your coffee and tea? We know we do. Our coffee moments consist of…

1. re-heating the cup about 20 times because we don’t have a minute long enough to sit and drink them, only to find the half-drank cup sitting in the microwave at the end of the day.
2. driving in the car while sipping our to-go coffee mug listening to Let It Go on repeat.
3. wiping coffee spills from our kitchen counter, our car’s cup holders and our laps.
4. being so utterly exhausted we can hardly enjoy the amazing taste of the miraculous, ground coffee bean; instead we wait for the kick-start energy boost we so desperately need.

It sounds worse that it is. We wouldn’t trade our lives of motherhood for anything or anyone. Those quiet moments will come one day, but for now our cup of joe that we love oh so much will be cold, on-the-go, covered with tiny hand-prints and extra strong.

Whether you get those quiet moments to drink your cup of tea or coffee, or not, we have DIY coasters you can make for yourself, a Valentine’s Day gift for a friend, or a special DIY engagement gift.

Materials:

• 4×4 white tile, The Home Depot
• Martha Stewart Crafts gold gilding sheets from Michaels
• Martha Stewart Crafts gilding adhesive from Michaels
• Sealant
• Cork board or felt pads

Directions:

Cut a heart shape from paper.

Set the two coasters together and place the heart on top. Trace the outside of the heart with a pencil.

Paint Martha Stewart Crafts gilding adhesive onto the coasters along the heart border and the inside of the heart.

After about 30 seconds to 1 minute, when the adhesive turns from white to clear, place the gold leaf sheets on top. Let it dry for about 2 hours, and then brush the excess gilding off.

Seal the coaster with the metal leaf sealer.

Glue cork board or felt pads onto the bottom of the coasters.

This setting – a lovely tray with some favorite books, a hot cup of tea, new DIY heart coasters and a pretty-in-pink bed {linens from Land of Nod} – is a quiet moment just waiting for us.

This Valentine’s Day make a special place for you to spend time with loved ones or yourself doing something you love. We hope you get a chance to sip something warm and set your cup on these cute, new coasters.