Thursday, January 12, 2012

Easy Felt and Twig Valentine's Tree Tutorial


Yesterday I shared my melted crayon LOVE tiles that I made for our mantel.  Once I finished them, though, there was still something missing.  We needed something with a little more height to it.  After looking around on Pinterest I had this and this for inspiration, I remembered an empty red vase hanging out in our kitchen begging to be used.


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A few scraps of felt, thread, and a glue gun later...



It was really easy and free (since we had all the supplies on hand) to put together.

And to round out the mantel, I put back our family name sign that I made at a ladies' craft night about a year ago.

And Firecracker added this painted stone frog that my mother gave me years ago which had been painted by a family friend.  At first it seemed a little random for a Valentine mantel...but there are some fun love stories/fairy tales involving frogs...so I'll have to share my favorite soon to help justify his place.  Besides, I like to indulge Firecracker's taste...and I don't want the whole mantel to look too red & pink anyway.


Materials:
  • Bare twigs/branches (You'll want them to have lots of knobby places to hold hang the hearts.)
  • Felt scraps
  • Thread
  • Glue (I used a glue gun...but you could easily use regular glue for a more kid-friendly project.)

I had Hubby help me cut some twigs off the tree in our backyard (because I'm short and was too lazy to get something to stand on.)

Then Firecracker and I pulled out some felt scraps and sent to work cutting out hearts.  Much to her disappointment, I threw a few white and grey ones into the mix for some contrast.

I started out using a single heart and using a needle to pull the thread through and tie a knot.  It was a bit more difficult that I realized it would be though, since some of the pieces of thread were so tiny.

After trying a few things, here's what I found easiest for making the little heart ornaments.

Fold a felt scrap in half.

Cut out two identical hearts.  I didn't worry about them being perfectly symmetrical, but you could always trace them if you want them looking more even.  All my hearts were small, but I still tried to vary their sizes so that some were a bit larger, and some were tiny.

Open up your hearts, and add a dab of glue.  (I used hot glue so the hearts would be ready faster, but regular glue would work too.  You'd just need to give the hearts time to dry.
Add your thread, so both ends are caught in the glue.
And sandwich your heart back together.
And hang on your "tree."

Hubby's not so sure about the "tree"...He thinks it looks too bare.  He says it looks like someone thought the twigs were lonely and added some hearts to help them feel better.  But I think it's growing him.

And if I want, I can save the little hearts in a baggy for next year and this will take up almost zero room to store...especially since those LOVE tiles will be finding a permanent place in the kids' play room after our move.

So what do you think?  Is this idea a keeper or does it look like some too-lonely twigs?  (It's okay...you really can tell me the truth.)

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31 comments:

  1. Definitely a keeper. And I agree with Firecracker about the frog - a wonderful touch of whimsy.

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  2. I think it is great. Added just the height you needed to make it pulled together. And the frog is a cute idea too. Yes there are so many love stories concerning frogs. Fits right in there.

    Karan

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  3. I love it! We used up some old crayons to make valentines today :) Fun for a snowy day in Maine!

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  4. Love it! I'm going to try this soon. And what is more perfect than warming up some lonely, bare branches with a few hearts?

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  5. It's adorable! Definitely keep it. The red vase is perfect for it!

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  6. I love what you have done with such little material. The colour palette is just perfect! Great valentines decoration :)

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    1. It looks amazing. I will be doing this with some tiny hearts I crochetted. I heart it! No its not lonely twigs. As a matter of fact in the spring, replace hearts w/ some little felt flowers in your color choice. Awesome idea and will mention it in my little corner of the web with your permission.
      Gabli
      gabimusing@blogspot.com

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  8. This is real cute. It'd look good with all sorts of styles of decorating too. Love the quick little spruce up ideas!

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  9. This is so sweet!! I love the little felt hearts - it's a really cute decoration!!

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  10. I'm so glad I saw this! I have a vase with tree branches that I wanted to decorate but I needed some inspiration, now I have it!

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  11. I really love this...so simple and it makes a big impact! New follower, found you on Keeping it Simple. Stop by and visit sometime...

    http://www.blissimagesandbeyond.blogspot.com/

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  12. The hearts make this SO cute - I love their teeny size!

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  13. This is such a cute craft! We would love to have you come share this at our weekly link party every Saturday! -The Sisters

    http://www.sixsistersstuff.com

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  14. I love the scale of the hearts! So cute!

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  15. Very cute idea! I love making a tree from branches!

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  16. Really cute! I have something the same I do every holiday/season. I bought some of those lighted twigs at the craft store and every season I decorate the twigs. Example for christmas I hang up some mini ornaments, spring I attache some little birds, fall I add some leaves... and so on.

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  17. this is adorable! thanks for the inspiration :) would love for you to link up to my HANDMADE Valentine link up at http://www.summitstreetjoy.com/2012/01/handmade-valentines-day-crafts-and.html
    blessings!
    lauren

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  18. Love it! :) This is gorgeous! I think I might have to do something like that on my front table this Valentines Day!

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  19. Love it! So cute! Maybe I can use some of the red and pink paintchips I have for the hearts!

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  20. Its definitely a keper!
    Maybe I will make one too!
    Please come share this at:
    www.ladybugswithzoi.blogspot.com

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  21. Definitely a keeper! I love this so much I made my own version. It's posted on my blog if you want to check it out. Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Oh my daughter would love this! Thanks for linking up to my party!

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  23. Definitely a keeper. Spare and bare aren't the same thing. I just found your site from grandmaideas.com. I am in awe.

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  24. For sure a keeper! I will now have something to do in my spare time! Thanks for sharing!

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