How To Make Charming Heart Gift Tags With Upcycled Sweater Scraps

DIY VALENTINE'S heart gift tags

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and in this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make these charming heart gift tags using upcycled sweater scraps. I hope you’ve been saving these little fabric gems that you have leftover from your other upcycled sweater project.

 

DIY VALENTINE'S DAY heart gift tags paper bag

It goes to show you that even the smallest pieces of felted wool sweaters can be made into some pretty cute things! Add a string of jute or ribbon and you have a tag that is unique and something that you don’t see every day.

I’m going to show you how to easily cut out a small heart freehand, a few ways you can apply it to a card, and show you how to sew several hearts together to make a HEART GARLAND.

supplies green heart heart gift tags

Heart Gift Tags Items & Materials Needed

  • Paper scissors/paper cutter
  • Fabric scissors
  • Felted sweater scraps/felt pieces
  • Card stock paper
  • Glue stick
  • Paper punch
  • Lightweight jute
  • Sewing machine (optional) for heart garland
cutting out heart gift tags

Instructions for Cutting out Heart Gift Tags

If you want, you can create a small heart pattern with paper. However, I find just eyeballing and cutting is much easier due to the small size of the hearts.

Take a piece of sweater fabric and fold it in half. You’ll only be cutting out the shape of a half heart. Start at the bottom point of the heart. You can make these as wide and as tall as you want. You may want to practice on a folded piece of paper to get the hang of it. It really is quite easy.

Heart Gift Tags Paper Prep

Decide how big you want the tag or card to be and cut out a piece of cardstock to that size. You can make the tag be a folded card or a single-layer tag.

heart gift tags glue

Heart Application

There are a few ways to apply the hearts to the paper. The first one is to just glue it on using a simple glue stick or craft glue.

heart gift tags red heartAnother way is to SEW IT ON. Yep, you can use your sewing machine to sew a simple line down the center of the heart. This gives the card a unique look and allows the sides of the heart to flop a bit, which I find to be really cute and different. TIP: to avoid thread nesting on the underside of the fabric, hold your thread for the first couple of stitches and then let go.

If you want to add a ribbon or tie to the heart gift tags, simply use a paper punch.

Fold the ribbon in half and insert the folded end into the hole. Stick the cut ends into the loop and pull to tighten. Tie the heart gift tag to your gift bag. SO CUTE!

heart gift tags heart garland

How to Make a Heart Garland

Another thing you can do is make a vertical heart garland by sewing several hearts together. You can do this by hand sewing, but using a sewing machine makes it a snap.

heart gift tags threadsStart by pulling out about 5 inches of thread from your machine.

heart gift tags sewing machineTake a fabric heart and start sewing at the upper notch of the heart down to the point of the heart. DO NOT CUT THE THREADS!

heart gift tags sewingTurn the handwheel of your sewing machine toward you to bring the needle in the uppermost position. Lift up the presser foot and pull the sewn heart back until you have the distance between hearts that you want.

heart gift tags garlandSew another heart in the same manner and continue with this process until you have a heart garland the length you desire.

heart gift tags doorknob

These heart garlands are adorable hanging from a doorknob or on the wall.

There you have it; another fun way to use up those small pieces of felted sweaters. These heart gift tags are not only for Valentine’s Day but make cute additions to baby gift wrappings and other gifts.

Be sure to check out my other Valentine crafts and gifts.

DIY Valentine Heart Branches / Love Grows on Trees / Easy Craft Tutorial

DIY Valentine Paint Chip Bookmark / Kid Friendly Craft

Paper Heart Garlands: Made From Recycled Magazines

Heart Lollipops: Made with Upcycled Sweaters & Felt

 

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Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

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DIY Valentine Heart Branches / Love Grows on Trees / Easy Craft Tutorial

DIY VALENTINE'S heart branches
heart branches

Looking for a quick and easy Valentine craft? These heart branches are the most charming holiday decoration and are a great way to add a bright, happy pop of color to your home in the dead of winter. They are super easy to make and there isn’t a lot of supplies and materials needed.

Heart Branches Materials & Supplies

HEART BRANCHES CARD STOCK

Heart Branches Instructions

Each 3D paper heart requires two cut-out hearts. You can make the hearts all one color or use two different colors.

The hearts can be cut to any size. If you have a heart paper punch, they come in handy but are not necessary. You can always cut the hearts out with a regular pair of scissors.  If you have a silhouette or cricket, you could cut up a whole page of hearts in no time at all.

heart branches heart punch

I just used my heart paper punch. I really like this heart punch set. It comes in a set of three different sizes, and they actually get used quite a bit.

gathering heart branches

1- Gather some long, thin branches.

You can cut them from your yard, your neighbor’s yard or I’m sure you can find some fake branches at the craft store. I just love the look of branches, trees, and plants in my house.  (I will admit, it’s the middle of January, and I still have my Christmas tree in my front room-minus the decorations), and I LOVE IT! Some of you may have seen some of my past Christmas trees and how I love decorating a little outside the box.

2- Cut the branches to the desired length.

Prune any unwanted twigs.

3- Cut out cardstock hearts (two per heart).

I used the 2″ heart punch and the middle size punch.

Stack two hearts on top of each other and clip in place.

4-Sew the hearts.

Using a sewing machine start sewing at the BOTTOM TIP of the heart and sew a straight line to the NOTCH OF THE HEART. *****VERY IMPORTANT…DO NOT CUT THE THREAD.

heart branches thread

5- Turn the handwheel of your sewing machine so the needle is in the most upright position.

LIFT UP THE PRESSOR FOOT, (this will allow you to pull the thread easily from the bobbin and machine). Gently pull the heart away from the machine to extend the thread about 12 inches.

Cut thread and then cut the threads on the bottom tip of the heart.

To make the heart 3D, separate the hearts and open and fingerpress in place.

heart branches tying

6-Now it’s time to apply the hearts to the branches. 

Wrap the end of the thread around a branch (I find the little buds are great to tie to) and knot the thread. Clip thread and continue tieing hearts to the branches until you have a sweet centerpiece.

That’s it, pretty simple, right?

Heart Branches Video Tutorial

When it’s springtime, check out my tutorial for making tissue paper blossoms.

Here are some other fun Valentine ideas.

Heart hand warmers

Carrot hearts

Heart garland

Happy Valentine’s day crafting and remember to keep it SIMPLE!

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Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

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Sweater Heart Hand Warmer Tutorial

heart hand warmer

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, YEA!  I love this holiday!  I always like to make some kind of valentine’s gift each year and I think this year I am going to give these fun heart-shaped hand warmers.  They are WAY easy to make and will be easy to mail to my family and friends.

I am terrible at sending out Christmas cards, but I do enjoy making and sending out valentine’s cards with a personalized note (of course).  That is one of my pet peeves, getting a generic card or letter in the mail.  Very rarely do you get something in the mail besides bills and advertisements? 

Don’t you think it is fun to get a card in the mail with your name HANDWRITTEN and maybe even a cute sticker on the back of the envelope?  My mother-in-law and I still send notes back and forth every once in a while in the mail, and I just love it.  We do converse with email, but there is just something about a written note that really lifts your spirits.  Even with her arthritic hands, she still sends beautiful handwritten letters.

This little rice bags really do work quite well.  Just pop them in the microwave for 30-40 seconds and place them in your coat pockets.  They are a great thing to send your kids off to school with or take in the car on the way to work.

So……go to your felted sweater, fleece, or flannel stash and pick out some cute, bright colors and get to work, and with your handwritten valentine’s note, send a set of cozy heart-shaped hand warmers.

heart hand warmer

cut out 4 hearts

heart hand warmer

Sew around the edge using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Back stitch at the beginning and end of the seam. Leave about a 2 inch opening

heart hand warmer

Using a funnel, fill with 1/2 – 3/4 cup flax seeds or rice.

Flax seeds don’t put off as much aroma as the rice and tend to stay warmer a little longer, but rice still works quite well.
Go back to the sewing machine and sew the opening closed.

Ta-dah!  There you have it.
Finish them off with a ribbon and a note attached explaining how to heat and use the rice bags.

Click HERE to download the heart pattern.

Check out my therapeutic rice bag pattern set in my shop.  Includes the heart and rectangle hand warmers, neck bag, eye pillow, back soother, and foot warmer patterns.

heart hand warmer

My husband and I have become wimps.  We heat up the foot warmer every night and throw it in the bottom of our bed.  It works like a charm, keeps our feet nice and toasty!  This puppy stays warm for a good 3 hours or more.  All of these bags are really easy and fun to sew up.

Here is a link for the foot warmer tutorial.

heart hand warmer

If you have any questions, send me a note.
Have fun sewing!

Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More