DIY crafts are a fun way to create sustainable decor as you channel your inner creative genius! This simple Valentine’s Day garland is not only a cute craft to create with your little, but also helps improve his or her fine motor skills!
Here’s what you’ll need:
MATERIALS:
- Wooden Hearts
You have three options when it comes to the main focus of your project! 1.) Purchase pre-painted hearts 2.) Purchase unfinished wooden hearts and paint them yourself, or 3.) Upcycle some previously owned hearts! For this garland, I chose #Upcycling for the win and reused wooden hearts I already had at home. - Wooden Beads
When it comes to wooden beads and DIY projects, the possibilities are endless. I used this set of wooden balls and they worked OK, but some of the holes weren’t perfectly round or cut through completely which made it difficult to thread the bead at times, but I was able to manage! Typically, I purchase wooden pieces from my favorite brand, Woodpeckers, due to their unmatched quality. Woodpeckers crafts beautiful wooden beads, peg dolls, cutouts, blocks and more, making them the perfect choice for a variety of DIY projects. Plus, Woodpecker sustainably sources their materials and most products are made in the USA. We especially love their wooden peg dolls (just $13 for 40) and dowels! - Cotton String or Natural Jute
The wooden bead set I purchased came with jute (hence the reason I chose that set – I thought it’d be easy as 1, 2, 3) so I tried to use that; but as I mentioned above, I ended up making jute tassels and tying them to the ends of a cotton string (which was much easier to thread). FYI – The jute did work much better with my Woodpecker beads.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut string to desired length. I always leave the string a bit longer than desired – just in case!
- Layout your pattern. Originally, I didn’t do this and had to re-string all of my beads. Make sure you have enough materials to cover the desired string length. Repeat as many times as necessary. Here is the pattern I chose: small bead, medium bead, large bead, medium, small, heart.
- Add the beads and hearts to your string. Yay!
- Make tassels for the ends (optional). Here are easy instructions for tassel-making. For my tassels, I used jute and wrapped the string around the entire top portion of the tassel. Then, tucked it in.
- Hang and enjoy!
P.S. Don’t forget to ‘share the love’ with your friends and family, juuuust in case they are looking for some V-Day inspo too!
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