Living Liesik: Simply Paper Hearts

We've been at it again! Decorating for Valentine's Day.

Aren't these fun and beautiful?

And they are so simple. I mean, really simple. I'm going to show you just how simple. Did I mention simple? I love the word s.i.m.p.l.e. But, I digress...

To make these hearts, cut 1" strips out of fun valentine/scrapbook papers. I even used up some outdated 'baby' paper that I had that was pastel colors. Once its cut into strips, it looks completely different. Each pattern cut 4 strips that were the same size. This is because to make one "strip" put 2 strips back to back so that you don't see the plain white back of the paper. And you need 2 of these "sets of strips" because you need one for each side of the heart. The length doesn't really matter. Whatever length you start with, you will make each successive set of strips be 1" shorter. For the larger heart my first set of strips was 12" long. So, I cut 4 strips that length, out of the same paper. Then, the next page I cut 4 strips 11" long. Another option would be to make each set 2" shorter than the last. It would leave bigger spaces between the strips. You will see above that there is a white strip under each patterned/colored strip. This is actually a matching strip that is on it's back. This is so that you will see the pattern/color from the outside of the heart and the inside, otherwise you would see a lot of white.

You will set these in 2 piles from longest to shortest. These are each one side of the heart.

Place these 2 strips together with the shortest pieces on the inside. Then you punch a hole through the bottom (where all the papers are lined up) and attach a brad. Another option here would be to run a ribbon through your hole on the bottom (or numerous ribbons) and tie it off either with a big bow, or just a knot and leave all the ends dangling!

The top part of the heart is a bit trickier to manipulate, but not hard. You just line the top ends up together and turn this stack of ends down by turning both sides to the inside of the heart. You can also sandwich a ribbon, or whatever you want to hang the heart from, in the center of these papers. Again, punch a hole and add a brad.

The heart garland is really easy also. It is simply paper hearts I sewed, yes sewed, as in with my sewing machine, together. Then I attached ribbon to each end and hung from the ends of the curtain rods. Again, simple.