DIY Valentine's Day Heart Garland

6 Materials
2 Hours
Easy
Valentine’s Day is on the way and it’s time to think about decorating for the month of love. To decorate for Valentine's Day, I made a heart garland using a mixture of baking soda and cornstarch. After the hearts were baked and cooled, they were painted with pink craft paint and given a sprinkle of glitter that resembles sugar. I love how this looks hanging on my vintage pie safe!
The heart cookie cutter that I used to make this project belonged to my grandmother which makes this project extra special to me.
To make the heart garland, combine 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, and 3/4 cup water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisk the mixture until it thickens (2 to 3 minutes) and remove from heat. The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes. Place mixture in a bowl and cover with damp paper towels until it cools to a workable temperature.
Spread a thin layer of cornstarch on a Roul'pat or sheet of parchment paper. Attach 1/4" depth rolling guide rings to the rolling pin. The rolling guide rings will allow you to roll your dough to a perfect 1/4" thickness. These rolling guide rings come in various thicknesses and are super handy for baking!
Need the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Use a knife to cut the dough in half. Set half aside and cover with a damp paper towel. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness. This is super easy thanks to the rolling guide rings attached to the rolling pin!
  1. Use the heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts. Reroll the scraps until all of the dough is used. Place the hearts on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and use a straw to poke two holes in the top of each heart. Bake for 25 min. at 175 degrees. If hearts are curling, flip each heart over and bake 25 min. more. Depending on your oven, the hearts may be completely dry after 50 minutes. If not, bake until dry, checking frequently. Cool hearts on a baking rack.
Pour a small amount of pint craft paint into a bottle cap. Paint the edges and then the fronts of each heart. When the paint is dry, flip the hearts and paint the back side.
After the paint dries, brush hearts individually with a thin coat of Mod Podge or glue and sprinkle with glitter. I recommend this brand of course glitter.
Cut a length of yarn longer than the length your garland will need to be when complete. Thread one heart to the middle of the yarn length and then add more hearts spacing them 3 1/2 inches apart. Tip: A yarn needle makes it much easier to insert the thread into each hole. I did not have one to use and it would have been a lot easier to make this if I had used one.
I used 3M hooks to hang the garland on my vintage pie safe. This garland would also look great hanging from a mantel or in a window. This was easy to make and I love how it looks!
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Paula Skulina
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Indre Koch Indre Koch on Jan 13, 2021

    Could you add food color to the dough and sprinkle with glitter before baking?

  • Wifesipad Wifesipad on Jan 14, 2022

    How long do they last.

  • Lissa Lissa on Aug 23, 2022

    How did you keep the hearts from sliding along the yarn? It doesn't look like they are knotted.

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  • Hope Hope on Jan 14, 2022

    These are great and...I actually have all of the ingredients to make them. Yay!!

  • Christie Decker Christie Decker on Jan 14, 2022

    Don't know if you thought of this, but if you don't have a yarn needle, you can take a strip of Scotch tape, wind it tightly around the end and down a little from it, to form a firm 'needle' to use to thread with. This works with shoelaces and other threadable items as well. Blessings!

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