Valentine's Day Craft Project Topiary and Felt Heart Wreath

More Valentine's Day Craftiness

I am officially done decorating for Valentine's day. In fact, I think I have done more decorating and crafting for this holiday than I ever have done in my whole life. Here are a few of the projects I worked on today.

The gummy heart topiary

I used toothpicks to insert the gummy candy into the styrofoam. The whole toothpick was too long, so I channeled my inner hulk and started breaking them in half. I found it easier to insert in deep into the styrofoam first, and the push the candy on top and position it that way.

I doubled up on candy to make it look a bit fuller and not show the white. After three bags of candy and $4 total on the project (probably more if you want to count the gas for the extra trip I had to make there today) I wasn't buying another bag just to fill in the bottom. I'm not a perfectionist, so it doesn't really bother me. I am cheap though so I prefer more bang for my buck!

Here is a picture of the two topiaries I did yesterday and today. I like them, but someone who would be bothered by seeing the white from the styrofoam would have major issues with this one!

Felt Heart Wreath

I saw this wreath on this blog http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2010/01/felt-heart-wreath.html and knew I had to make one! I have only recently started sewing with felt (I use them on my superhero capes for the lettering) and found that I love it. Felt is definitly my favorite fabric. It's so easy to work with...it doesn't slide around, it doesn't fray, it cuts nicely...really, whats not to like?!

Here are the pictures of my creation. I followed The Idea Room's tutorial as well as this tutorial to figure out how to pin the felt into the wreath. http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/12/diy-project-kristens-ruffly-felt-wreath.html

I made around 200 3 inch circles using this handy container as my guide. I drew them onto the felt with a brown marker and then used at least 3 layers of felt at a time to cut through to make it go a little faster.

Here are the supplies: About 1/2 yard of felt (buy it in bulk, it's cheaper than the small squares), a box of 250 stick pins and a styrofoam heart (I had a coupon for 50% off at Joann's so it was $2). Total for the project: Around $4.50

I had a hard time figuring out how to position the circles on the wreath. I found that if I put them in all in the same direction, it looked better.

And here are the finished Valentine's day decorations in my front entry. I never realized how bare it looks until I photographed it.

Love it!

Notice I didn't do the back. You can only tell at certain angles when you look at it so it really is best to just do the front and most of the sides. Happy crafting!