project // sparkled heart garland

As a blogger, I always get down on myself for not creating holiday tutorials earlier. Especially when you start seeing Valentine's Day projects just after the first of the year, and Christmas projects just after Valentine's Day. Okay, that second one is a bit of a stretch.

As a crafter, I find that I enjoy making holiday projects much closer to holidays. Maybe it's because that's when I really get excited about them, or maybe I just wasn't inspired sooner. At any rate, I just finished and hung these hearts and so I'm sharing with you.



These happy and sparkling hearts are simple enough that, even with just a couple days until Hearts Day, you can still make a garland. Or, pin them for next year! (But then, actually go back and make them, mmmkay? Because sparkle hearts will make you happy, and I want you to be happy!)



Here's what you need:

Felt
Embroidery floss
Sequins
Ribbon or cording
Scissors
Needle
Craft glue

Heart Template PDF



Cut out a bunch of heart shapes from felt. You can use whichever sizes you want, and make as many of each size as you want.

My garland hangs on a large mirror, so for my approximately 36-inch strand, I have one large heart, four medium hearts, and six small hearts. For the medium and large sizes, I cut them from pink, and also cut white hearts for backing.



If you like faces on things (because they're just so cute!), embroider them with french knot eyes and a scallop mouth. The face only appears on the medium template, but you could do this on any of the sizes.

Layer up the doubled hearts, and stitch around them with running stitch. These doubled hearts cover the back of the embroidery and give them some weight.

I held the layers together with Wonder Clips, which I've discovered are, well, WONDERful.



On the small hearts, glue on some sequins.



For the large heart, double the layers, stitch around the edge, then glue on a bunch of sequins.

Or don't! You can do these however you want to make them fit your style!



Arrange the hearts on the ribbon or cord. This will help you figure out the spacing you need.



Stitch the hearts onto the cord with a few stitches, knotting it off on the back.




Hang your garland, sit back, and smile!

You're gonna get so tired of me talking about sequins making me happy, but they do. I've already been planning the next project to use them!

And just as an idea for if you really want some sparkle hearts, but don't have a few hours to make this, how about making an ornament? Or a mini garland with only a few of the smallest hearts? I promise you won't regret it!