Paper heart garland (tutorial).

We needed a little more Valentine's cheer around our house, so when I saw this felt garland on Pinterest the wheels in my brain started to turn (the original is in Chinese, but the pictures are pretty self explanatory). 

It took me less than an hour to make both garlands, this is such an easy project. Using paper means there's no sewing, plus you probably already have everything you need! I did two slightly different versions, so don't forget to scroll down to see the second one. 

Paper Heart Garland

Supplies

Card stock or other stiff paper

Bakers twine or other string for hanging

Stapler

Hole punch

Paper cutter or scissors

Directions

Cut your paper into 1" by 8.5" strips. My garland is approximately three feet long, and I used 13 strips (4 pink, 6 red, and 3 maroon). Fold each strip in half widthwise. 

Fold and hole punch each strip.

On one strip, measure and mark 2" and 0.5" from the open end. Punch a hole through both layers of the paper at each mark (see picture). Use this strip to mark all of the other strips, and hole punch them as well. 

Staple the heart together.

Twist the strip into a heart shape; the fold is the bottom point, and the ends curve in to meet at the top. Twist the top forward to staple the ends together (see picture), make sure the edges and holes are even, and staple together. Straighten the heart if needed, and repeat with the rest of the strips.

String the hearts onto your twine. Tie a slipknot in each end, and hang up your garland.

I put this one over the kitchen sink. It makes me smile every time I do the dishes.

Alternate Method

I had so much fun making the first garland that I just couldn't stop. I wanted to make a garland using old sheet music, but the paper wasn't sturdy enough; it would flop and bend where I had punched the hole. 

A little bit of double sided tape did the trick marvelously (I might have a small obsession with double sided tape - it's great for wrapping presents too!). This one is even faster to make than the first one since you don't have to measure and punch the holes.

Supplies

Paper

Double sided tape

Stapler

Scissors

Directions

Make your hearts as above, but don't punch holes in them. I wanted this garland to be smaller, so I used 7.5" by 0.5" strips instead. Thirteen hearts made a garland 30 inches long.

Use small squares of double sided tape to stick the hearts together side by side; make sure you are keeping the garland even and straight. Hang the garland using two more pieces of tape.

This garland went on one of our bookshelves.

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