Make a String of Hearts
Everyone loves heart-shaped decorations. This cute wooden
handicraft can be hung over a doorway or as part of a wall
display. Paint the hearts red, pink, and white, and you will
have a decoration for Valentines' Day. Paint them red and
green for Christmas, or red, white, and blue to display love
for America. You can leave it plain for a natural look. The
string of hearts wooden handicraft fits well with country
style furnishings.
To make the string of hearts, you will need 5 wooden heart
cut-outs approximately three inches wide, a drill with an
eighth inch bit and a quarter inch bit, a small amount of
raffia, two yards of 1 -1/2 inch wide soft ribbon, two large
wooden beads, and acrylic paints in the colors you want. The
ribbon and the beads should match the color scheme you
desire. Plaid ribbons are particularly effective. The string
of hearts has five hearts side by side tied together with
small raffia bows. The first and last hearts have the wide
ribbon strung through a hole on each side and a bead strung
on the ribbon. The ribbon is knotted at the very ends,
making a loop of ribbon on each end which can fit over a
nail for hanging.
The first step in making the wooden handicraft is to drill a
small hole on each side of the hearts. The two outside holes
are made with the quarter inch bit, and the other holes are
made with the 1/8 inch bit. Now paint the hearts with the
acrylic paint in the colors you desire. Acrylic paints are
the small bottles of craft paint that are sold in 2-ounce
bottles in a wide variety of colors. They can sometimes be
purchased very inexpensively. Tempera paint will work if you
can't get acrylic paints. Another idea is to spray paint
them, especially if you want to use a metallic color.
When the paint is dry, tie the hearts together with the
raffia. To do this, cut four 10-inch lengths of raffia.
Thread the raffia down into one hole and up through the hole
on the next heart so that they lay side by side. The raffia
should be tied in a neat bow on the top of the arrangement.
Do the same between the rest of the hearts so that all the
small raffia bows are on top. Trim the raffia ends if
necessary.
Through each of the outside holes, thread one of the
ribbons. Pull the ribbon through until the ends are even.
Thread the large bead over both ends and slip it up close to
the heart. Trim the ends of the ribbon decoratively and knot
them. Repeat the process on the other side to complete the
wooden handicraft. Now hang the string of hearts wherever
desired for a cheerful decoration. A wooden handicraft like
this makes a nice gift for someone special.
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