Make some creative and eco-friendly Valentine’s Day decor with these charming upcycled cardboard hearts embellished with yarn, scrap cloth, and sheet music.
Whip up a variety of upcycled hearts – made from cardboard, scrap drop cloth fabric, yarn, twine, and sheet music.
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Why I love this craft
I often challenge myself to make a new craft entirely from supplies I already own. For many reasons, I like to limit my trips to the craft store or dollar store.
Maybe that’s why I enjoy making upcycled crafts so much.
Upcycling doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. With just a few simple materials and a bit of creativity, you can transform ordinary items into beautiful works of art.
For example, you can transform scraps of cardboard, drop cloth fabric, and yarn into a beautiful Valentine’s Day craft.
Video Tutorial
Watch this quick video tutorial to see how this craft came together:
Upcycled Hearts
Make some creative and eco-friendly Valentine's Day decor with these charming upcycled hearts made from cardboard, yarn, and scrap cloth.
Materials
- scrap cardboard
- yarn
- twine
- drop cloth fabric
- off-white chalk paint
- rub 'n buff, antique gold color
- sheet music scrapbook paper (or book pages)
Tools
- black sharpie marker or pen
- craft scissors
- heavy duty craft scissors
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- silicone fingertip protector (for the hot glue)
- paint brushes
Instructions
- Watch the video tutorial before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this craft.
- Draw and Cut Out Heart Shapes: Using a sharpie marker, draw heart shapes on the cardboard. You can make them any size you like use. Use heavy duty craft scissors to cut out the heart shapes. These will serve as the base for your upcycled hearts.
- Wrap Yarn and Twine Around the Cardboard Hearts: Apply a small dab of glue in the center of a cardboard heart. Secure the end of the yarn to the glue. Begin wrapping the yarn around
the cardboard heart, covering the entire surface, adding small dabs of hot glue as you go. Once you reach the end, secure the yarn with another dab of glue. TIP: a silicone fingertip protector can be quite helpful here.
- Cover Hearts with Drop Cloth Fabric: Use a pen to trace a heart onto the drop cloth fabric - about 1/4-inch wider than your cardboard template in all directions. Cut out the fabric heart. Pinch the edges of the fabric heart with your thumb and pointer finger, and gently pull to fray the edges. Add a thin line of hot glue around the edge of of a cardboard heart, and then center the fabric heart over the hot glue. Repeat this process on the other side of the heart.
- Make Corrugated Hearts: Use a finger to add a small amount of water to one side of a cardboard heart. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then gently peel away the wet top cardboard layer, leaving the corrugated middle in place. Use a paint brush with a small amount of paint to "dry brush" a weathered paint finish onto the corrugated surface. Cover the back of the heart with drop cloth fabric (see step 4).
- Make Sheet Music Hearts: Trace and cut out a cardboard heart onto sheet music scrapbook paper. Add a thin line of hot glue around the edge of of a cardboard heart, and then center the paper heart over the hot glue. Cover the back of the heart with drop cloth fabric (see step 4).
**Feel free to get creative and embellish your hearts with anything you like, of whatever you have lying around in your craft stash.
The finished upcycled hearts
I simply styled my cardboard hearts in a dough bowl on the table behind our couch. But feel free to use these adorable hearts as decorations, gifts, or even as part of a larger art project like a garland.
Don’t Forget to PIN these Cardboard Hearts for Later:
I like all your ideas. They are easy and some things the grandchildren like doing. I agree it’s much better to use stuff you have on hand. Thank you.