DIY a Mini Zen Garden for Mom This Mother’s Day

1. Heart-shaped jewelry

Now don’t get me wrong – heart-shaped jewelry can be super cute, but oftentimes, it can feel a little cheesy and predictable for Valentine’s Day.

2. Huge teddy bears

Those big teddies – or even just the cheap stuffed animals from the drugstore – are not practical whatsoever and tend to collect dust. Unless you know of a very specific plush that your Valentine's been wanting, it’s okay to skip the stuffed animals.

3. A dozen roses

While red roses can be a romantic gesture, there are so many other flowers to consider. Roses are simply generic AF and very expected – instead, get to the bottom of what your Valentine’s favorite flower is and run with that! From lilies to mums, you could even create your own bouquet with just a little extra effort.

4. Fake plants

The same idea goes for fake plants. Why invest in a fake plant when a real one can be so much more meaningful? This way, every time your Valentine goes to water the plant you gave them, they’ll be thinking of you. ❤️

5. Matching gifts

Matching t-shirts, mugs, socks, and the like are honestly pretty cringeworthy, unless you’re really into them. Your Valentine will definitely appreciate a unique gift a lot more this year.

6. Cheap chocolates

Cheap chocolates are good for a last-minute gift, but if you want your gift to feel special to your Valentine, please take the extra time (and money!) to opt for a fancier box. They’ll look better and taste better.

7. Anything impersonal

All of this goes to say that anything impersonal makes a cliche and outdated Valentine’s Day gift. You don’t even have to go insanely above and beyond for your date this year – just a little extra consideration will definitely make them feel loved.

Supplies For Your Own "Cruel Summer" Taylor Swift Fuzzy Dice:

• Sewing machine
• Pink fleece fabric
• Pink thread
• Pink felt
• Scissors
• Blue rope/cord (I took mine off a loofah)
• Needle + pins
• A copy of Lover to listen to while you sew ;)
• Poly-Fil Stuffing (not pictured)
• Ruler (optional)
• Glue gun + glue gun sticks (optional, use it to touch up your seams if you need)

Instructions:

Start by marking your fleece with the measurements for your squares. Since the size of the dice on Taylor's official website was listed as 3.5", I marked them just above 3.5" so I could leave room for a hem. You'll need 12 squares total.

Next, cut out your squares. I used the first square as a template for the others, then went back in and cleaned up the edges where necessary.

The first image I made was a sun, and I started by drawing a circle on my felt. I used the rim of my thread spool to make sure I had a perfect circle but you can also free hand if you want the circle to be a different size.

Pin your felt to the center of a fleece square.

Sew the circle to the fleece using a regular straight stitch.

Next, move your sewing machine from a straight stitch to a zigzag stitch and decrease your stitch length to a lower number like 0 or 1. This will allow your art to have more of a filled-in border, instead of a messier, chevron finish.

Go back over the rim of your circle with the zigzag stitch to give it that embroidered look. I did this with the fabric right side up, then I did it again with the fabric flipped upside down just to be extra thorough.

After your circle is complete, it's time for the sun rays! Use the same zigzag stitch and 0 stitch length to move from the circle outward. This is where you'll want to add another element: stitch width.

To give the sun rays their triangular shape, adjust your stitch width as you move out from the heart of the sun. While the stitch length ensures your sewing won't have empty spaces, the width will let you move from a wider sunbeam base to a thinner point. I just decreased the width every few stitches as I went along.

Your finished sun will look something like this! I went back in with a needle to clean up loose threads by hand. I waited to trim them until I had threaded them to the back so that the front image had a more polished look.

Repeat the above steps for your devil and angel hearts. There are only a few differences between these and the sun; you'll cut the felt into hearts instead of circles, and to fill in the horns and the wings, I used a straight stitch to give it a colored-in look, reserving the zigzag stitching for the borders.

I know the original dice had "Cruel Summer" lyrics stitched onto these squares, but I ended up leaving them off. It makes the design more minimal and easier to work with.

One thing to note about this step: beware of bunched fabric! Filling in the angel wings brought the edges of the squares in a bit, but I wasn't too upset about it. I think flaws give a craft some personality!

The "Lover" stitching got a little more complicated than the images. I first traced the word with my pen so that I would have some guide as to what the word should look like. Move the stitch width back down to one of the lower settings.

Then instead of just moving the fabric in a circle like I did for the sun, I moved it all around to follow the word I had written in marker. Repeat this a few times until you're satisfied with the thickness. I definitely tried this step a couple different times so don't worry if you don't get it on the first go!

For my final embroidered square, I did a simple "TS," which of course stands for "Taylor Swift."

Before you can sew your squares together, line the edges up and pin them. I used my ruler to mark how far I wanted my hem to go (I did 1/4" at every edge) for a sewing guideline.

I pinned the squares one at a time, checking at each step that they were pinned the right way (especially after I sewed two together incorrectly and had to pick out the stitches. Oops.)

Arrange the images in a similar way to the official dice, or change it up however you'd like! I chose to arrange the squares so that there was a blank in between the images.

Pin and sew your remaining three squares around the middle square so that you end up with a cross.

I continued pinning and sewing the edges to one another until I had an inside-out cube. Here's a tutorial to help you better understand which edges should be sewn together.

I did one square at a time, making sure to focus on the corners and going back in to tighten them up once I was done. You only want one gap, which is where you'll flip the cube inside out and then stuff it.

Once you have a cube, flip the fabric inside out. I used my pen to make sure all the corners and edges were good to go.

Next, stuff your cube with whatever filling you prefer. I didn't stuff it super full because I didn't want it to have a rounded look when I was done.

Ta-da! A little wonky but very cute :)

When you have both dice, cut a small hole in the top for your cord. Knot the ends and stuff them into the holes, then use your needle and thread to attach the cord and the fleece together.

Voilà!

They're soft, fuzzy, and pink. What could be better than that?!

If you don't want to hang these in your car, they also make excellent Valentine's (or Galentine's) decor.

If you need me, I'll be blasting "Cruel Summer" for the rest of the month.

Kirkwood Buffalo Chicken Wings

You can never go wrong with frozen chicken wings – they can be way easier to prepare than raw ones, plus this bag in particular comes complete with a buffalo flavoring that truly knocks it out of the park!

"I get their boneless buffalo wings in the orange bag," one Redditor offered. "I hit them with a bit of extra sauce and cook on a greased pan at 400 degrees for 30 min (I like mine well done). I like them 2 ways: over rice with cheddar cheese, or over salad with bleu cheese dressing. Fairly easy."

Casa Mamita Frozen Burritos

This 8-pack box of frozen burritos makes a convenient mid-day snack option or a quick dinner.

One Aldi fan shared a yummy way to spice them up:

"I use a baking pan, put salsa on the bottom, then the burritos, then top with salsa and bake," they wrote. "The salsa keeps them from drying out and becoming rock hard. You can also add canned beans (I like black beans) before baking. Hit with some cheese at the end, add in rice if you want at the end."

Kirkwood Garlic & Herb Seasoned Chicken Breasts

These pre-seasoned chicken breasts take the heavy lifting out of prepping raw chicken and offer an easy way to incorporate flavorful protein into veggie-based dishes, pastas, or salads.

"I keep the Garlic Chicken around," one Redditor noted. "I can't say it tastes amazing, but it's good enough, fast and easy to make."

Priano Cheese Ravioli

Stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese, this fan-fave frozen iteration of ravioli is stunning if you're craving carbs that can cook quickly. We suggest adding some sauce, veggies, protein, and Parmesan for extra oomph.

Fremont Fish Market Beer Battered Cod Fillets

Aldi's frozen seafood selection is surprisingly vast, and it's beloved for being packed with easy and quick options that still taste dang good. Take these beer-battered cod fillets for example – they turn out just like your fave fish and chips joint in around 22 minutes.

Fremont Fish Market Jumbo Coconut Breaded Butterfly Shrimp

Same thing goes for this pack of jumbo coconut-breaded butterfly shrimp – they're all plump and perfectly crusted for dipping!

"I’m not a big fan of coconut but this is soooo good," one Redditor said. "It comes with a packet of dipping sauce which is sweet."

"I’ve bought both these and the regular butterfly shrimp and we love these for a random night of appetizers for dinner," another person commented.

"Just had these for dinner tonight with some salad," one more user wrote. "Can confirm they are delicious!"

Priano Frozen Stuffed Shells

Aldi's frozen pasta is simply too good to pass up, per shoppers. These hand-filled shells are packed with a blend of three cheeses, alongside some good old Italian seasonings for a quick meal.

"My husband and I actually love these!" one Redditor said. "I oven bake them with sauce and cheese and they’re a hit in our house."

"These are my favorite," one more person added. "I add marinara, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and Parmesan and cook them about an hour. I actually wish they weren’t just seasonal."

Specially Selected Macadamia Nut Flounder

This crusted flounder is another stunning hit from Aldi. Soft and tender on the inside, but nice and crunchy on the outside, it makes a yummy addition to salads, roasted veggies, or pasta!

Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza

Aldi fans adore their frozen pizzas because they're so "easy to cook." Pizza is always a reliable frozen meal to pick when you don't know exactly what you're craving!

"Their rising crust pizzas by Mama Cozzi are really good," one Redditor said. "We prefer them to the brand name and they are a lot cheaper. We also like the French Bread pizza."

Season's Choice Eggplant Cutlets

These frozen eggplant cutlets are the perfect shortcut to making Eggplant Parmesan right at home, or just serving up as an easy side dish.

"These cutlets work perfect and made for a quick, low calorie lunch," one Redditor wrote. "I was honestly surprised how well I liked these, definitely worth it."

"I love these, especially since it is so time consuming to bread and fry eggplant by hand," another said. "If I had to nitpick, I do wish they were peeled, but I'll happily take these any night for a quick eggplant parm. Nom nom nom."