With Valentine’s Day fast approaching I was invited by my friend Cindy of County Road 407
to take a Pinterest idea and run with it for a fun project for Valentine’s Day and this sweet
mixed media Valentine’s Heart is
what I came up with!
Thank you, Cindy!
Hugs!
🙂
A list of all of the participants in the
From Our Heart to Yours blog hop
for you is at the bottom of my post. Come
back by if you aren’t able to visit everyone’s
blogs and see their fun projects to begin again.
Everyone participating today has
this same list linked within
their posts.
Now…
{drum roll, please!}
Come along together as we make a Mixed Media Valentine’s creation…
Pour yourself a fresh cuppa and enjoy
this quick and easy how-to
tutorial and our sweet
blog hop graphic ~
Please so
share!
🙂
this quick and easy how-to
tutorial and our sweet
blog hop graphic ~
Please so
share!
🙂
Mixed Media Valentine’s Heart project
Supplies and part of the How-to ~
- vintage frame with backing ~ mine was a thriftshop find that I turned into a chalkboard and just repurposed.
- “baby batting” – used by quilters and good for padding the frame.
- burlap to cover the batting and board.
- packing tape or hot glue to secure the batting and burlap to the backside of the frame’s backing.
- grapevine roll
- wire for securing grapevine as the heart is wrapped. I used what originally wrapped the grapevine from the store. Another repurpose!
- flowers and crystal letters I had on hand in my craft supply stash.
- ephemera ~ I used these little “Instant Ancestors” from a package of 100+ pieces.
- pliers and wire cutters for twisting and really pulling the wire tight.{I cheated and used my old Fiskar scissors… I know. Bad Barbara, bad!}
- wooden board and nails to make a jig ~ for holding that wreath taught when drying.
- dinner plate and something heavy to hold it down.
Here is the original photograph we were given as our inspiration piece:
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Sooo cute! Love it as it is ~ you can see where I grabbed the idea for
the heart shaped wreath, the lettering and the frame. This one uses
dropcloth as it’s background covering, I’m pretty sure from its texture.
|
I immediately thought of a grapevine heart as when we were first married I bought one and hot glued on dried German statice flower bunches in dark purples and pinks all along the hearts’ edges.
Heart shaped grapevine wreaths were all the rage in the 1990’s along with big hair and stretch pants. I had that heart above my bed for years and loved it!
The Big Heart How-to
This is a BIG POST so pour another of your favorite hot beverage… 😉
First you’ve got to soak your grapevine overnight and start it in warm water ~ speeds up the process. Check throughout your evening to see how it is progressing. You want that grapevine to really absorb the water so it is pliable and won’t break as much when it’s bent.
This is the first go-round of the wreath after creating the top bend and tying it off ~ hubby later came in and helped pull the wire tighter. :X
Next morning begin with one grapevine end and bend it upwards to create a sort-of point (about 3″ in). Now bend the grapevine with your fingers flexing it into a heart shape.
Decide how large you want your heart to be and bend the wreath at 90 degrees and tie off creating the upper bend in the wreath.
Finish bending the wreath around to the beginning and tie off. Start the first row of the grapevine winding around (second time around the shape). Retighten both sets of wires around the joined end and the upper bend as needed.
Begin the second loop leaving slight gaps and a little looseness {found this out with trial and error} as you wind and pull.
As you come to the upper bend of the heart ~ get someone to help you hold it and pull the wire closure really tight. Mr. Ethereal helped me pull it tight with a set of pliers.
The lower left photo shows me wrapping grapevine around the wire to hide the wire as best as I could.
I thought about painting the wire with brown chalk paint ~ and you may want to do this. I forgot so all finished photographs show the wire a bit.
😉
Soak the wreath again if needed as you work ~ just tie off the loose grapevine until you are ready to finish. This also helps flatten the wreath out since it will be out of shape. Finish by tucking in the loose ends of grapevine into the wreath and run some wire around the ends and tie tightly ~ hiding the wire.
Make a jig
Next you’ll want a way to hold the heart wreath in shape and flat while it dries completely. I used penny nails tapped into an old piece of board we had and slightly stretched the wreath around the nails. Add extra nails as needed.
Add a plate with something really heavy on top of it to hold the wreath down flat. It was a windy day ~ perfect for drying the wreath out. Check after a few hours and move the weights to any parts which still need to flatten and leave until dry. Mine took about four hours to totally dry ~ the wind was a great help!
Last parts ~ Make the burlap padded frame
I made this chalkboard in the fall and repurposing it for this project isn’t permanent so I pulled the backer board out.
Lay the batting down on top of the freshly ironed burlap piece and cut out the raw cotton batting with about a 1-2″ selvage. Cut the burlap with about 2-3″ selvage bigger than the board.
Make sure the burlap looks straight vertically (which is why the board is slightly crooked in the above photos – because it is but now the burlap is where it should be.) from the front of the board before you tape or glue it on.
Just like upholstering a chair, begin by pulling up the middle of the top and bottom sections securing with tape or glue. Tape working outwards then fold in and tape the corners. Pull up the sides using the same method.
Put the covered backing back into the frame. If it doesn’t quite fit, tape it to the back of the frame and call it good. 🙂
Remove the dried wreath from the jig and add a ribbon loop run through the grapevine from the back.
Since grapevine is really tough to pull anything through ~ use a 6″ doll needle to “thread” the ribbon underneath and rethread one end as needed in order to make the loop and then run the ribbon back to the top of the wreath again. Does that make sense? Hope so!
Tie the ends to the hanging wire on the back of your picture frame and adjust the ribbon as necessary to hang in front.
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Now the fun part!
Add whatever ephemera you’d like! I found these old fashioned “Instant Ancestors” at Joann’s ~ Jim Holtz idea-ology paper dolls ~ and wanted to create an anniversary or wedding theme with my Valentine’s mixed media project.
For this last part, tear a few sheets out of an old book you don’t love and fold them accordian-style. Glue the ends of one to the next until you have enough to make a “fan circle” when glued in a round.
Mine took two pages made into two fans first, then glueing them together along one edge and fanning them and finally glueing where they met ~ creating the circle.
Hot glue on your “ancestors” to the middle of the newsprint circle hiding all the joined pieces. Glue wherever you’d like on the burlap as decoration.
Add some crystal letters (similar) in your favorite Valentine’s Day saying ~ I chose the same wording LOVE as the inspiration piece.
Project Costs
- $6.99 – alphabet stickers, approx. I had these already in my craft supplies from when I decorated mirrors at our home and in our last trailer.
- $11.99 on sale – grapevine garland ~ I used the whole thing!
- $ 6.49 – Tim Holtz paper dolls with almost a full bag left for future projects and album decorating.
- burlap fabric – I bought 1/2 yard at Walmart. Linked is a roll of burlap ~ 18″x 3 yards.
- baby batting – this natural cotton batting runs $4.97 for a 45″x 36″ piece (1 yard).
I am really pleased with how this Valentine’s mixed media project turned out and you can see the similarities to the original Pinterest inspiration…
🙂
Our Pinterest project was inspired by Christina of The DIY Mommy who shared this originally as a video tutorial called Make a Book Page Heart Wreath. So cute!!!
I am already thinking that I can remove the wreath from the frame later on and hang it on the front door of our next home like I used do at our past homes.
And of course it may end up over our bed again after Valentine’s Day is over…
😉
If you’ve enjoyed today’s crafty Pinterest Challenge post I’d love it if you’d sign up for future posts!
I appreciate you and your friendship.
{think big heart!}
Now please follow the links to all the ladies in the From Our Heart to Yours blog hop. There are so many great ideas being shared today! And thank you again to Cindy for all of her hard work putting this fun hop together. Woot woot!
You may also enjoy these two Valentine’s posts
10 Valentines Ideas on the 10th
Hanging Lock Heart
What a previous valentines project. Love it sweet friend.
What a previous valentines project. Love it sweet friend.
Barbara I definitely like your idea much more than the original. All that pretty texture on the wreath and the special touches you have added make it one of a kind.
Barbara I definitely like your idea much more than the original. All that pretty texture on the wreath and the special touches you have added make it one of a kind.
I have always wondered how to shape a grapevine wreath. I love them but can't always find what I need. Thanks for the tutorial! My fave part has to be the paper dolls. Brings back fond memories of my childhood. Love your project Barbara and your sweet encouragement and friendship. Thank you for joining us! Big hugs.
I have always wondered how to shape a grapevine wreath. I love them but can't always find what I need. Thanks for the tutorial! My fave part has to be the paper dolls. Brings back fond memories of my childhood. Love your project Barbara and your sweet encouragement and friendship. Thank you for joining us! Big hugs.
Barb, this is so pretty! I love it! And thank you for the information on how to change the shape of a grapevine wreath! I never knew! Have a great one! Hugs!
Barb, this is so pretty! I love it! And thank you for the information on how to change the shape of a grapevine wreath! I never knew! Have a great one! Hugs!
Oh my goodness Barb I am so impressed! I have tried to whip grapevine into shape myself and it is no easy feat. You certainly rose to the challenge. Happy Tuesday!
Loving this wreath. I never worked with grapevine other than a premade wreath. I love the tutorial you provided in your post. Love working with you on this challenge.
Your grapevine wreath turned out great and I love all the embellishments.
I really love the old world and french vibes this project has. The frame you used is so pretty too. Great job. This was such a fun challenge.
Very pretty, Barb, and great instructions! I loved the burlap.
Barb, this is so very pretty! Perfect for Valentine’s!❤️
This is such a sweet idea for Valentine's Day!
I had seen several of the other projects from our other friends, but yours has actually inspired me to do a little project! 😉 Stay tuned!
Very pretty Barb! I love mixed media projects. The burlap and frame is so pretty too!So happy to be joining you for this fun challenge!
Interesting and thank you for showing us how you can shape a wreath and create such a neat valentine's. Thank you for linking up with us at #OMHGWW
very nifty idea
very nifty idea
Your vine heart is wonderful and your groupings are wonderful!!Happy Valentines early. Thank you for sharing on #omhgww last week!Hope you have a lovely day! Please stop by again this week to share!
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