DIY Hearts on a String

Now is as good a time as any to confess that in the past couple of weeks, whenever I've been on the phone with someone, I've had the overwhelming certainty that I'm going to end the conversation by saying: I love you. This, to me, is totally bizarre. I'm talking about work conversations here, telemarketer conversations, discussions with my landlord about mold. But still, as I reach the end of the chat, a little voice in my head says: I love you? And then the bigger voice in my head says: No! Don't say that! Wait. Did I say it? At that point, I'm left trying to decide if I actually vocalized this weird new reflex or was able to suppress it in time. 

Of course, the more I think about this issue, the more of an issue it becomes. I'm trying to keep the projection of horrible awkwardness at the front of my brain. This is what will result if you let loose with the unsolicited I love yous, brain. Remember the awkwardness. So, consider this advance warning. If I tell you I love you over the phone, you should probably just pretend it never happened. I'm almost positive I won't mean it. All right, now that I've told you I don't love you...it's time to show you the Valentine's Day project I've been working on. Paper heart garlands!

This has kept me occupied while sniffling. Of course, since I can't just sit and work on a project in silence, I've had my History of Britain dvds playing in the background. I've cut and pasted my way from the 1550s into the late 1700s. That's quite a chunk of time to craft to. And, as I've said before, the History of Britain series always makes me want to learn more about various historical characters. This time it's Sir Robert Walpole--generally considered Great Britain's first unofficial Prime Minister. Someone to look into...

Anyway, the heart garlands are quite easy. You'll need paper (I used red card stock and several sheets of patterned red scrapbooking paper {purchased on clearance for .29 cents a sheet at Michael's Crafts}), some type of string (I used my red & white baker's twine, but a thin red yarn or ribbon would be lovely), a large needle (one used to finish knitting would be ideal), a glue stick, a pencil, and a pair of scissors.

Decide on the size of your hearts and then accordion fold your paper...well, accordingly. You know how to fold and make hearts, right? I'm betting you do. Make a bunch of those. All one size or several different sizes--totally up to you. But know that for each heart strung on your garland, you'll glue together three paper hearts, so trace and cut lots and lots. Then put them in a big old pile and admire your handiwork.

Others might stop by to admire your handiwork, too.

I used the same folded heart to trace all the other hearts, but invariably some were a bit bigger or smaller. I'm not too picky about that because they're charming either way, right? Find three hearts that are roughly the same size and glue them together so they have three sides. Like this:

Measure out your string to fit your window, or mantel, or whatever space you desire, and then thread the needle. For the left side of the garland, you'll insert the needle through the top of the heart. For the right side, insert the needle through the bottom.



I had my hearts meet in the middle. Like this:

Keep stringing until your garland reaches the desired length. Make slipknots at either end and then hang that sucker up somewhere!

 Despite what I said earlier: Lovies!