Hearts on the Line

On my way down to Jess's house a bit after new years, I hit Target in the hopes of scoring some cheap Christmas decorations. Imagine my delight at finding everything 90% off! Awesome!
I found some fun stuff that I'll share with you next Christmas but, I found these primitive wooden hearts that I knew I could repurpose as Valetine's decorations. And the best part? They were 10 cents each! Score x90% off!

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

I used all the materials I already had: pink metallic craft paint, red glitter paint, sliver and black sharpie paint pens and of course, glitter!!

I hand wrote "Love is all you need" about the hearts and then strung them up with pink polka dot ribbon on a retractable curtain rod. I hung the rod between our living room and family room/art space to add a bit of love.

Love is really all you need! Well, and hearts at 10cents a piece!

Stay crafty my friends - JCoy

Double Sided Heart Banner

This project takes me back to elementary school, when we would make paper doll chains.  This is a modified version of that elementary school project; same charm, more durability!

You will need:
Sharp fabric scissors
Iron and ironing board
2 pieces of 3 1/2" x 15" fabric
2 feet of string (twine, yarn, or whatever you like)
1 piece of 3 1/2" x 15" Heat Bond






Things to think about before you start:
What size of heart do I want to use? 
I tested three different sized heart cutouts with paper before settling on a 2 1/2" x 2 3/4" sized heart. 
What fabric should I use?
I used hand dyed pink cotton for one side because Valentine's Day is coming up.  For back side I used a springy/flower cotton fabric.  When Valentine's Day is done I flip my banner over and voila', spring decoration!
Where can I buy Heat Bond?
I purchased mine at JoAnn Fabrics.  Most likely you can purchase it at a craft/fabric store near you (there are many different types of bonding materials like this to choose from, I have always used the Heat Bond brand).  If you have no luck at your local store click here, this will take you directly to the Heat Bond in JoAnn Fabrics online store.

Let's get started!

Using 1 piece of 3 1/2" x 15" fabric, follow heat bond instructions and fuse heat bond to the wrong side (back) of fabric.

Fold your fabric accordian style to a little less than your cut out heart size, the top edge of your heart should overlap (this is where the hearts connect to form the chain).  Keep in mind that each fold will represent a heart.  I recommend doing 6 folds at the most (I did 5 for mine).  Any more than that will make it difficult to cut the fabric accurately.




Trace your heart with a pen directly onto the fabric.  Do this on the Heat Bond side of the fabric.  Any penmarks left showing will be covered up once you bond this to your second fabric.

Cut along the lines.

Unfold your hearts. 
They should look like this.









Lay second fabric down, wrong side up.  Follow heat bond instructions, fuse your second piece of 3 1/2" x 15" fabric to the first piece.










Trim excess fabric.

 

If you want, you can add smaller hearts to the center of your larger hearts by using heat bond.










Using sharp fabric scissors (embroidery scissors work best), cut a small hole on either end of heart banner (the heat bond will prevent fraying).  Thread your string through the hole and tie in a knot to hang.  I use longer string, this makes adjusting my banner length easier.



Voila'!  You're done!  I have my heart banner hanging over one of my favorite prints from The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy called Someday Cottage.  The right side pic is the "Spring" side of my banner.

~xoxo J.M.Riley



Valentine's Day Heart in a Bottle

I believe that you should celebrate Valetine's Day every day!  After the lull of January, who can resist red and pink, and hearts and chocolate filling the stores? After all pink, hearts, and chocolate are three of my favorite things!

I decided to combine those three with glitter to share with you. Here is an easy project to add to your Valentine decor!



Supplies needed:
 - empty clean bottle
 - skein of funky yarn
 - glitter
 - craft paint
 - skewer
 - plastic lid from a disposable coffee cup
 - cardboard from the recycling bin
 - glue
 - foam brush
 - scissors

Directions

Starting at the bottom, use the foam brush to brush glue on your bottle an inch or so at a time. With glue still wet, start wrapping your bottle with the yarn. Keep gluing and wrapping until you get to the top. Set aside to dry.

Paint your skewer with your favorite pink paint (I am using metallic pink craft paint). Set aside to dry.

Clean the lid from your coffee cup and cut a heart from it. Cover one side with glue and sprinkle liberally with your favorite glitter (I am using the Martha Stewart line from Joann Fabric). Set aside to dry.  Cut a heart from your recycled cardboard. Glue and glitter this heart as well.

After everything is dry, glue the plastic lid heart to the front of the bottle (I had to use my glue gun for this part). Glue the cardboard heart to the skewer.

 

Fill your new heart bottle with candy and stick the skewer in (the candy will hold the skewer upright).  Give to your love and enjoy together!

Stay crafty my friends - JCoy