Love is in the air!

I've been working on all kinds of projects. From upholstery to freezer meals to quilting. But I panicked when I realized I had taken down the Christmas wreath from the front door and had nothing to put up for Valentine's Day. I went to the basement checked out all my wood scraps and a project was born. Now, I will admit, I don't have alot of original ideas. Pinterest is so amazing, so I usually see something I like and tweek it to be my own. 

This heart being sold on Etsy is what caught my eye and I thought I can make that! And this is how you can too! Or let me know and I'll make one for you because I just checked and this item is no longer being sold on Etsy. I still have wood scraps in the basement so your cost is bound to be good.

What you'll need:

a piece of wood to accommodate your heart size

wire (I used No.19 soft galvanized)

burlap

red paint

polyurethane

Tools needed:

jigsaw

drill

wire cutter

sandpaper

pliers
scissors
scrap paper

Ok, I have to apologize, I did not take many pictures of putting this together. I know, I am a bad blogger. So you are going to have to pull out the creative portion of your mind and put it to work. You can do it! I have faith in you!

First using your scrap paper cut the size and shape of heart you like. As I stated in my Fall Burlap Wreath my house sits a ways back from the street so I want to make a statement with what goes on my front door. Your heart can be smaller but mine measured about 29" tall by 21" wide. I then taped it to the door to see how it sized up. The Etsy heart is very small, you can see it hangs from a door knob. 

Next I ripped my piece of scrap wood down the center using the table saw. I love using my big girl tools whenever I can. I then took the heart pattern and cut it in half. Lay the pattern on the wood and trace with a pencil. Use your jigsaw to cut the two pieces out. 

Now grab your drill with a big enough drill bit that will allow the wire to pass through. I drilled 3 sets of wholes down the center of the heart. This is where you will run your wire to hold the two halves together. Once those are done drill two holes at the top of each heart section. This is where the wire will run to hang the heart. Great! Almost done with the drill. Think about bow placement. Drill two holes about an inch apart where you want the center of the bow to be. 

Sanding- I sanded the edges so I wouldn't get splinters but other than that I did not sand it. My piece of wood was a really nice piece of oak I'd bought for another project and then cut it too short. Ugh, I know. Hence the saying measure twice, cut once. But I knew some day I'd have a use for it.

My red paint was left over from Red Door of Welcome. Red always takes a few coats to get an even tone. Be patient and give it all the coats it needs. You'll thank yourself later. My front door is exposed to the elements so I always try to protect my projects best I can. Here I used polyurethane. Two really good coats. After it drys completely you may choose to sand it a little to make it look distressed. I kept mine as is.

Cut 3 lengths of wire long enough to attach the heart halves. Poke the wire through the holes and double back on it. Bend the wire on the front side and then use a small item like a pencil to wrap the wire around to make pig tails. I used needle nose pliers and wrapped it around them. 

Once the heart halves are connected you can cut a length of wire to hang the heart from. I added an extra length to again make pigtails. I took the paper towels off its holder and used that to make the big pigtails.

Burlap, You can buy it in a spool of ribbon. The wire edged kind makes it a little more durable. I had yards of burlap in the craft closet so I cut strips in 2 1/2" width. I reeaaallllyyyy wish I had a good video on how to make a bow. It is super easy but if you are like me, you are such a visual learner it is hard to imagine. I know there are some on Pinterest but I just did a quick search and some of them practically have you turning handstands to get it done. I promise I will give a tutorial soon on my super easy bow making. But for now if you need help you'll have to turn the handstands to get it done if you don't already know how. :( Because I cut strips of burlap instead of using burlap ribbon it frays a little. I think that adds to the character of the project. 

Cut a piece of wire to attach the bow, draw it through the two drilled bow holes and secure it in place. You can also pigtail the wire ends on the front side if you wish. You're ready to hang your heart. Now if you made your holes too far apart for the wire to hang it from it may make your heart a little 3 dimensional. Which at first I was a little worried about but now I am really loving it.

What a fast and easy project and I love it!!! I hope you do too. I hope your Valentine was good to you this year. Mine fed me Chicago style deep dish pizza. YUM!!! Reminded me of our dating days. 

Thanks for checking in on me. 

Linda