ten garlands in ten days: paper hearts

This is simply an assortment of hearts punched from scrapbook paper. I used three differents sized punches and a handful of papers. If your paper is not double sided, join up two hearts back to back before carefully feeding them into your sewing machine. I use a simple straight/running stitch set on 2 for length. I have no idea what my tension is but I do know if I go too fast and leave too much of a gap between the shapes my thread gets all knotted through the needle and bobbin. This is super easy to make but the longer you want it to be, the slower going it may be. Enjoy! 

ten garlands in ten days: fingerprint hearts

This happy garland can be easily be made in a day. All you need is sturdy white paper, ink pads, scissors, yarn, glue, and a paper trim punch. 

Create fingerprint hearts by pressing your finger into an inkpad and then stamping your fingerprint onto white paper. Overlap and position the second print to create a heart shape. I used my thumb for this part. Use scissors to trim hearts into rectangles and scallop the bottom using a paper punch. Trim sides to your preference and get read to galrand it all up.

Fold over the top part of each flag just enough to hold your yarn. Arrange flags face down and add your glue. Nudge a long length of yarn onto each flag, making sure it is hugging the glue and wait for it to dry.

Once dry, trim yarn ends, add loops and hang in a happy space! Enjoy! 

ten garlands in ten days: more newspaper hearts

This easy garland is the byproduct of yeaterday's garland. All you need to do is to trim the heart punched newspaper into smallish squares or rectangles and then stitch them together using a sewing machine. 

I love all the neon and black on the newspaper. Love it! 

ten garlands in ten days: hearts all o' cluster

Being quite fond of the wonder that is the garland, I thought it was time for me to revisit ten garlands in ten days. I had meant to begin this a few days ago, ending on Valentine's Day but I simply dropped the ball. All but one of the garlands is already made and so I hope you enjoy them! 

This cluster garland was created by stitching painted newspaper hearts together, with various lengths of garland stemming from the top heart. I'll show ya how! 

Grap a sheet of newspaper and some happy neon paint. Drizzle, drip and blob your paint onto the newspaper. Fold in half and rub like ya did in kindergarten when you made blobby butterflies. If yer newspaper is too wet it will rip so gentle is the key. Open gently and allow to dry. 

Once dry, either hand cut or paper punch out your heart shapes. I used a large heart punch makign the hearts about an inch and half tall.

Bring to your sewing machine and stitch together with a short stitch, ten hearts. Gather up eight hearts and chain them together using the top heart of the first row. Next, gather six or seven and also stitch those in a row to the top heart. Your top heart will be covered in stitches with your various chains dangling below. 

Hang in a happy place and go paint more newspaper to make more! My next batch will have paint on both sides of the heart! **

**I'll take a picture of the top heart so you can see better soon! 

the february bed

Ah, the february bed! One of my favorites to make as I like to pile on the pink. This year, I went for pink in the pillowcases and a smidge in the shabby chic thrifted duvet cover I found over the summer. The army of love sets off the tone and there ya go! 

February is my birtday month and this month, mister is making me a pie. I'm also trying to promote my etsy like crazy as this a-go-go needs new shoes, a cookie scoop, camera lens and jeans that fit. I also have my eye on a quilt from a box retailer. I think I will get it for myself. Thank goodness for coupons! 

diy: army of love

I had the idea for htis project back when we still lived in Los Angeles. I got as far as spraypainting my army men but the finished project never happened. This year, I thought it would be perfect for my february bed. Thank goodness for the wood scrap pile behind the mama a-go-go's house! 

I spray painted the army men purchased from the dollar store with multiple coats of florist spray paint, front and back (after a good soak in soapy water). The spray paint doesn't really stick very well but if you can get the whole thing all glued up you should be okay. Maybe good old fashioned regular spray paint would work better? 

I first thought I would glue them onto a painted white board but I liked the way this scrap piece looked and left it as is. I even thought of adding the words army of love underneath the heart but couldn't decide how or what with so I left it. Before you do any arranging or gluing, add a hanging fixture to the back if you wish to hang it on a wall. I forgot to do this part and when I was trying to hammer in a nail, a half dozen fo my army guys popped right off and needed to be reafixed. After you get yer fixture on, arrange your guys into a heart shape and play around with them until you like the way they look.

Heat up your glue gun and get to gluing. Ignore all the thready bits. You can pull them off once everything is set. 

Hang or prop in a happy place and enjoy!