Everyone loves heart shaped decorations. You too can make your own string of hearts! This cute wooden handicraft hangs over a doorway, or as part of a wall display. Paint the hearts red, pink, and white, and you will have a handmade decoration for Valentines’ Day. You may also paint them red and green for Christmas. Alternatively, maybe you’d like to paint them red, white, and blue to display love for America? You may also leave it plain for a natural look. The string of hearts wooden handicraft fits well with country style furnishings. And, with different paint jobs, can fit a wide variety of niches for decorating!
To make the string of hearts, you will need 5 wooden heart cut-outs approximately three inches wide, a drill with an eighth of an 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. Knot the ribbon 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. Use the quarter inch bit for the two outside holes, and the 1/8 inch bit for the other holes. 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. Sometimes, they are on sale at the craft store 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. Tie the raffia in a neat bow on the top of the arrangement. Do the same in between the rest of the hearts; so 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.