Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day?

Every year I look forward to adding an unexpected bit of whimsy to my decor in red and white for Valentine’s Day. After the Christmas decor is stashed away for the season, our homes are usually re-organized and pared back a bit.  I think that’s why I love to bring out some red for February.  I’m ready for a pop of color and the extra bit of life it gives my home decor in the midst of the loooong winter.

Today I’m sharing an easy craft that will make your heart sing….

Beaded 3-D Hanging Paper Hearts Tutorial

This fun project requires just a few inexpensive supplies and a wee bit of time to fill your kitchen window with beaded strings of hanging hearts.  Or, create a romantic dinner setting and dangle colorful paper hearts from your dining room chandelier for Valentine’s Day.

This is a fun crafting project for a girlfriend get-together, or a great craft to have on hand for the next snow day.

Don’t worry about having the “perfect” supplies…work with what you have.  One of the pluses of crafting with a friend is sharing supplies.  Here I selected a red, black, and white theme with some scrapbook papers on hand.  Have fun with the papers you choose.  In the past, I have even created hearts from magazine pages.

Hopefully you save buttons from worn out clothing or the extras that come pinned to your new tops or slacks or jackets.  If not ask your mom or a friend or pick some up from the craft store.  The buttons make it fun, but they are not necessary.

Beads are a must for this project.  I don’t do any beading, but I have a friend who does, and she gladly let me look through her stash for some pretty beads.  The beads definitely take these paper hanging hearts from ordinary to extraordinary!

Let’s create our beaded 3-D hanging paper hearts!

Supply list: Contains affiliate links.

• Four designs of scrapbook paper (Valentine Paper Pad, Colorful Paper Pad, Love Paper Pad) or heavy magazine paper, etc.
• Liquid Paper Glue
• Buttons
• Beads
• 1/8 Inch Hole Punch
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Embroidery floss/needle

Steps to Create Beaded 3-D Hanging Heart Ornaments

1. Make a heart template…mine is about 2 1/2 inches high.
2. Fold your patterned paper in half and slide the template over the paper and cut around the template. For efficiency you may layer your papers and cut two hearts at once.
3. To create one heart, you need to cut four hearts, I chose to make mine from four different paper designs.
4. Fold each heart in half with the paper’s pattern side, folded inside.
5. Apply a thin coating of glue to just one side of the folded heart and attach the side of another heart to the gluey part after lining them up perfectly.
6. Continue gluing and attaching one side of the heart at a time.  Here I alternated the black and red hearts.
7. Completed hearts should look like this.  You may wish to do a little trimming on the edges with your scissors if there is any irregularity.
8. Cut a piece of embroidery floss at least 24 inches long and pull off four strands.  Knot the four strands together about four inches from the end.
9. Separate the embroidery floss from the knot so that you have two strands of two.  Insert each strand of two into one of the button holes.
10. If you have an embroidery needle available it may be easier to feed the embroidery floss through some of the beads.
11. Once you have the length of buttons and beads you desire, knot your thread at the end of the last bead.
12. Create as many strings of beads and buttons as you do hearts.
13. Using a small-holed paper punch, punch a hole through your hearts near the top as shown and tie the short end of the string of beads and buttons closely to the heart, leaving a little space for the heart to swing freely.  Trim.

 That’s it!!  So easy!  

Hang your pretty paper hearts and enjoy!!

Last Valentine’s Day I used some 3-D hanging paper hearts to decorate the mantel.    That certainly was a bit whimsical.  Maybe a little over-the-top for some, but as always I had a ton of fun playing with book pages.

How would you use these pretty hearts in your Valentine’s Day decor?

Here are a few more Valentine’s Day ideas…

Quick and Easy 3-D Framed Valentine Heart Tutorial

An Everlasting LOVE Chalkboard Printable

Thanks for stopping by today!
Hope your day has been Extraordinary!

Diane

This post first appeared on It’s Overflowing. com.

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