Won’t you please be my VALENTINE?! | making dreams into decor & decor dreamy daily

“Without art there would be no heart.” and vice versa in my opinion. I love decorating and making beautiful things- it comes from deep within my heart.

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. Let’s get on to my next two projects! I hope you LOVE them!

I was looking for something to make that takes up space on a shelf, not a wall. I found so many ideas at a fantabulous blog, Then She Made. She has umpteenillion (try writing that in expanded form:) ideas! So cute! <See the easy how to directions below>

Here’s another heart art cutie I’ve seen in several variations all over Pinterest. Ya know I’ll be pinning mine up as soon as I show you how to make it:) So please, read on!

LOVELY LITTLE TREE

First, find a pot. I’m really digging the new mercury glass craze.

I dug this little vessel out of the attic and grabbed some tinfoil, a dowel rod, and a bead garland my daddy bought me for Christmas. I thought it was too expensive and he went back and got it to surprise me with. GOTTA LOVE THE DAD!!

Pack the tinfoil in tight at the bottom and wrap around dowel until it’s not wobbly. (I know all those fancy, technical terms- impressed, right? 🙂

Next, cut your precious paper into descending size sections. I think I started at 10 inches and went down an inch for each section, ending with 5 inches. Accordian fold each.

I then took my ribbon and cut a piece longer than I thought I’d need. You’re going to start at the bottom of the dowel and wrap the ribbon around it once, centering it. I added a little dab of hot glue to hold it in place.

Then go under each section crossing over the front of the folded paper sections and crossing behind the dowel, ready to go under the next section. Keep repeating and tie off at the top.

You can top it however you like. You may have noticed I took some of the hearts off and the words fell off (don’t use glue dots on skinny pieces of paper and expect it to stick if it’s vertical).

I put it on my mantel to have a chunky piece in just the right spot- to cover the plug in. You can see more of my mantel in my last post “Window On Love”. I am sooo cheesy! Ya really gotta love cheese if you’re gonna hang out with me!

FRAMED HEART ART

Here is my favorite part of any paper project: picking out all the cute coordinating paper.

I had been ~~hoarding~~ lovingly storing 4 fabulous picture frames I got for ten bucks at a yard sale. They had Snow White prints in them. I felt reallly guilty taking them out, sorry Snow.

I cut a piece of linen a little bigger than the cardboard insert and hot glued it on as tightly as I could without bending it. I wrapped a fluffy, white band of tulle around the bottom before putting it back in the frame-without the glass. I hate those little staply thingys that hold that stuff in. I’m too in a hurry to go get the all-in-one tool (butter knife) to bend them out, that equals disaster for my fingernails.

The hearts are stacked with some plain white paper mixed in to save a little money. I try to always buy my paper on sale. I cut my hearts out with a Cricut, but they sell paper punches in so many shapes and sizes you could use. Only put a thin line of hot glue down the middle of each one so you can flare the sides out. I like the demension- don’tmention it:) All the buttons are different, but white. Can you find the only one that is heart shaped? I threaded some thread through the holes before gluing them down. Better than actually sewing them down, I think, but I am sadly not a seamstress. Maybe next years goal?

I made two little tulle pompoms by wrapping a strip around two fingers, tying the sides, cutting and fluffing. I fanned out the bottom one and glued it down, and bunched up the second one and glued it on top.

I did kinda hold the old classroom #16 ruler up to line it up, but I am NO perfectionist. I used two sided foam dots to stick the hearts on so they’d be easier to move and they stayed on so well, I didn’t mess with the hot glue gun.

There are so many ways you can change this up. It’s wonderful living with all my creations in colors and styles that I chose, and I put together how I wanted.