Easy Valentine’s Day Craft

Here we are in the middle of January, almost a month away from Valentine’s Day. So, I thought this would be a great time to share an easy Valentine’s Day craft with you. We are going to make a Valentine’s Day garland out of paper. This is a fun project to make, doesn’t require much time, and uses basic supplies. The results are stunning and it’s a fun way to celebrate.

-Paper you can cut into the shape of hearts. I used paper from an "1895 Town of Deerfield NY Annual Report" and some sheet music from 1912. You don’t have to use old paper, it’s just my preference to do so.

• A thin piece of cardboard to cut out a template of half a heart. I used cardboard from a shirt box from Christmas.
• A hole punch
• A pen
• Glitter – any color you like. I used gold and pink.
• Scissors – to cut out the hearts
• Rubber cement glue. Note – it’s very important to use rubber cement and not another type of glue.
• A piece of aluminum foil
• A plate to hold the glitter
• Jute twine to string the hearts together

Step 1: Cut out the Hearts

The first step is to create a template of half a heart. I used the cardboard from a leftover shirt box from a Christmas gift- but any thin cardboard will work. Cut out the size you desire for your hearts that will be hanging on the garland. As a point of reference, my half heart template was 5 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide. Remember, you only need half a heart. ( Wait . . . that sounds a little funny)

Once you have your template, fold the paper for your hearts in half. On the side with the folded seam, place your template and trace the half heart design. Repeat this process so you can cut out 6-10 paper hearts. While each heart is folded in half, use the hole punch in the middle of the top of the heart. See the photo above. In the event, there are some mishaps, you may want to cut out some extra hearts – just to have as a back up.

Step 2 – Apply Glitter to the Hearts

Have you ever noticed that when you apply glue to paper that it causes it to warp and wrinkle? Regular glue has this affect on paper. That’s why for this easy Valentine’s Day craft we are using Elmer’s Rubber Cement. Rubber cement provides a tacky surface but the paper still remains flat. I really wanted the hearts to look like they were dipped in glitter. I particularly wanted some of the text from the antique paper to still be visible. So, to get the effect that I wanted, I set a paper heart on some aluminum foil and then applied brush strokes of the glue to only the top half or the bottom half of the heart. The aluminum foil protects the surface you are working on (desk or table) while allowing you to fully cover the edge of the heart with the rubber cement.

Here is a tip – don’t apply too much Rubber Cement – it can get gloppy and the glitter will get clumpy. This Valentine’s Day craft works best when a thin layer of Rubber Cement is applied to the paper.

Using Antique Paper

Just a quick note – you can use any paper you have readily available. I like to make crafts with antique paper. I love the way it looks and I love repurposing it into something we can use today. Often times, I will pick up old pamphlets, sheet music, and books at flea markets or antique stores for just a few dollars. If the pamphlet, sheet music or book is damaged or falling apart – even better.

I randomly selected the “1895 Annual Report for the Town of Deerfield NH” for this project. The report was issued on February 15, 1895. The day after Valentine’s Day.

You can find antique paper “lots” on Etsy and Ebay. You can you also find them at library sales. I did find some paper lots that you may like and linked them below.

Apply the Glitter

I found that it was best to only work on one heart at a time. So after applying the rubber cement to the paper heart, quickly turn it upside down onto the plate holding the glitter. Move the heart around in the glitter to ensure good coverage.

There are some variations in glitter, meaning individual glitter pieces vary in size. I tried this easy Valentine’s Day craft using different types and sizes of glitter and found that using “extra fine” glitter worked the best. It provided the best coverage and was more uniform in application. I linked some glitter below that you can use for this project. After the heart is covered in glitter – set it aside to dry. Repeat this process for all 6-10 paper hearts.

Step 3 – Assemble the Heart Garland

This is the fun part! Now you can assemble the garland. Cut a good length of jute twine and then weave the twine though the hole punches on each heart. String all 6-10 hearts onto one piece of jute twine.

Here is a close up of one of the hearts. You can see how the Rubber Cement worked really well.

Step 4 – Enjoy Your Easy Valentine’s Day Paper Craft!

As you can see, here are some hearts with pink glitter. After all, this garland is for Valentine’s Day – so I had to incorporate at least some pink.

You can use the garland to decorate a fireplace mantel, stair banister, dresser or window. The best part is that these garlands take up very little space and can be easily packed up and used next year.

By the way – do you like old general store candy jars? We find ourselves collecting them. They seem to be the perfect decor item for any season.

Here is a short video showing you how to make the hearts. Sometimes it's just easier to understand the process by watching a video. This video is less than 20 seconds long.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. I hope you found some inspiration. In the event you want to make this easy Valentine's Day craft - I rounded up some supplies below. I will have one more Valentine's Day craft that I will be sharing with you soon. So stay tuned!

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