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 Paint Chip Bookmark / Kid Friendly Craft

diy valentine's paint chip bookmarks

I have always loved the paint chip sample displays at the hardware stores. All the different shades of color printed on paper just make me happy.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how you can take these little gems of colorful paper and make a fun Valentine bookmark. This is a very simple and quick craft that is kid-friendly and something unique that you can give as a valentine.

paint chip bookmark supplies

Paint Chip Bookmark Materials & Items Needed

You can get paint chips at all stores that sell paint (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.). Look for paint chips that have the least printed text on them. (You’ll be cutting that part off).

Paint Chip Bookmark Instructions

  • Cut off any text or already punched boxes like in the photo above.

paint chip bookmark

I like to use a paper cutter so I get straight even cuts. You could easily use scissors or even a rotary cutter and ruler.paper cutter paint chip bookmark

I love this paper cutter. It’s compact and works really well!

  • If you want to round out the corners, use a corner punch.
  • Punch a hole along the top middle part of the bookmark to thread a ribbon into. Fold the cut ribbon in half and stick the folded edge into the hole from the front to back.

  • Leave a little loop and thread the cut ends of the ribbon into the loop. Pull to tighten the knot.

  • You can leave the paint chip book mark as is, or you can punch some fun hearts into the bookmark. I have this heart punch set that has three different sizes in it. I use these often for cards and other crafts.

    paint chip bookmark heartsIf you want to write a little note on the backside of the paint chip you can do that.

paint chip bookmark green

That was pretty simple, right? What a fun way to re-purpose these colorful paint chips!

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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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Paper Heart Garlands: Made From Recycled Magazines

Looking for a fun Valentine’s craft? These paper heart garlands are easy to make and only require a few supplies. Best of all, this is a project where you can recycle. (I love re-purposing items). You can create such unique items when recycling, and these paper hearts are just that, one of a kind!

I am going to show you how to make two kinds of paper hearts: a simple single heart and a double heart. You can use both types of hearts to create a vertical and horizontal garland.

You can watch the video tutorial below.

Paper Heart Garland Items & Materials

  • magazine pages cut int strips 3/4 inches (2 cm)
  • paper punch (small 1/4 preferably)
  • stapler
  • jute or ribbon to hang hearts
  • paper cutter or rotary cutter
  • 1/2 sheet card stock paper (cut into 3/4 inch x 1 1/4 inches) 2 cm x 3 cm

Heart Garland Instructions

Cut magazine pages into strips 3/4 inches wide

To make a single heart: cut a bunch of strips 4 inches long. (You’ll need two strips for each heart)

To make a double heart: cut a bunch of strips 4 inches AND some strips 6 inches. (You’ll need 2 short strips and 2 long strips)

Cut card stock into tabs measuring 3/4 inches x 1 1/4 inches.

Punch a hole at the top as indicated in the photo above.

Single heart

Cut a strip of ribbon or jute and make a loop for hanging the heart.

Place the jute between two short strips, lining up the edges. Staple in place. (Make sure to catch the ribbon)

Open up the strips and fold back.

Line up strip ends and staple them in place. This will form a heart. You can hang a single heart or make a vertical heart garland.

If adding more hearts below, place another strip on one side of the bottom of the heart and another on the other side.

Line up paper ends and staple them in place. Fold the ends down and staple them again to form another heart.

Continue this process until you have a garland your desired length.

Continue this process until you have a garland your desired length.

Double heart

To make a double heart, you’ll need 2 long and two short strips, and one card stock tab for each heart.

Place the strips in the order as indicated in photo. (short, long, tab, long, short)

Align the bottom of the strips and tab and staple about 1/4 inch from the bottom

(Make sure ends are lined up evenly).

Open up the strips and fold them over, so all ends meet at the bottom to form a heart.

Staple in place.

If adding more hearts underneath, add strips as indicated in the photo above.

To make a horizontal garland:

Simply string jute or ribbon through the hole you stapled in the tab. Add as many hearts as you want. Make a loop on both ends to hang the garland. 

I hope you have as much fun making these paper heart garlands as I do.

Here are some other Valentine crafting projects to check out:

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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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Valentine Sugar Cookies

Valentine Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are something that I don’t make too frequently around here. I only make them for special occasions. First, they take some time, and second, they are just too yummy to have only a few so I end up eating way more than my share. These Valentine Sugar Cookies are the best!
 
I hadn’t even thought about sugar cookies this Valentine’s and my daughter mentioned yesterday that “we need to make sugar cookies”. What a great idea!
This recipe is a long time family favorite recipe from my sister Bonnie. It has sour cream in it, yes sour cream.  A yummy moist, flaky sugar cookie.

Bonnie’s Valentine Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shortening or butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt can be used)
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 4 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting

  • 1/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
  • 2 1/2 – 3 Tbsp milk
  • food coloring, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
  • In another mixing bowl add butter, sugar, eggs (mixing after each egg), soda and vanilla.
  • Cream together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream and mix well. 
  • Add the flour mixture slowly.
  • Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. (Don’t forget about it in the freezer or you will have dough too stiff to roll out).
  • Take 1/2 of the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Put the other half back in the fridge.
  • Lightly flour the surface and roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch in thickness. Of course you can use a regular rolling pin, but this rolling pin is the coolest. It has these rings that you can remove or add to get a set thickness of whatever you are rolling out. Works so well on cookie and pie dough!!!!! 
  • Cut out desired shapes using a cookie cutter, and carefully place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  • Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 2-4 minutes depending on the size. This really helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Once they have chilled for a few minutes, pop them in the oven.

Baking the cookies

Baking times really depend on the size of the cookie.
  • Simply turn your oven light on and start the timer for eight minutes. Check them then and add a minute or two as needed. I like my cookies to be really soft so I pull them about just when I notice the “moist” look of the dough is gone on top or if I notice any bit of golden on the bottom.
  • After removing them from the oven, let them sit on the warm pan for a minute or two. This gives them a minute to firm up and bakes just a bit more.
  • Carefully grab the edges of the parchment paper and slide them off, parchment paper and all, onto wire cooling racks. Using a spatula often squishes them, or even breaks them.
  • Once the cookies are cool, use a spatula and gently stack them.
  • Mix the frosting and have fun decorating!
 
TIPS:
  • The cookies taste better the next day, or even several days later.  Store in airtight containers and enjoy!
  • For a great tip on getting all your cookies a consistent thickness, check out this blog post.

You may be interested in the Italian Dressing Recipe.

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Valentine Sugar Cookies
This recipe is a long time family favorite recipe from my sister Bonnie. It has sour cream in it, yes sour cream.  A yummy moist, flaky sugar cookie.
  • Prep Time15 min
  • Cook Time23 min
  • Total Time38 min
  • Course
    • Dessert

INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup shortening or butter
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt can be used)
    • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
    • 1 tsp. vanilla
    • 4 tsp. baking powder
    • 4 1/2 cup flour
    • 1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting

    • 1/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature
    • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
    • 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
    • 2 1/2 – 3 Tbsp milk
    • food coloring, optional

INSTUCTIONS

1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 
2

In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

3

In another mixing bowl add butter, sugar, eggs (mixing after each egg), soda and vanilla.

4

Cream together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream and mix well. 

5

Add the flour mixture slowly.

6

Blend until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.

7

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. (Don’t forget about it in the freezer or you will have dough too stiff to roll out).

8

Take 1/2 of the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Put the other half back in the fridge.

9

Lightly flour the surface and roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch in thickness. Of course you can use a regular rolling pin, but this rolling pin is the coolest. It has these rings that you can remove or add to get a set thickness of whatever you are rolling out. Works so well on cookie and pie dough!!!!! 

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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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Carrot Love – How To Make Carrot Hearts

My favorite holiday is just around the corner, VALENTINE’S DAY and one of my favorite colors is ORANGE. So what do you get when you put them together………..CARROT HEARTS! Making carrot hearts is really a lot easier than you think. I will show you how simple it is.

Throw these bright colored gems in:

  • salads

Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup 

  • soups
  • or just eat as snacks
  • Surprise the kids by throwing a handful of carrot hearts in their lunch box

WARNING…..This is not an activity for the little ones! (Give them a piece of pink paper and child scissors and let them make paper hearts).

In the next few posts I am going to show you some other fun ways to embellish your food with love (HEARTS).

How to make carrot hearts

You will need a few good size carrots, chopping knife, paring knife, and vegetable peeler.

It pays to use a GOOD peeler. Notice in the picture above how there is a difference in the size of the slit. The bigger the peeler slit, the deeper the gouge will be. You want the peeler to make a significant peel. If not, it takes a lot longer.

When I first started making these, I used a knife. It worked but I realized it wasn’t the safest route to take. This is a good vegetable peeler .

 

cut the end of the carrot off

Using the vegetable peeler, peel one side of the carrot off

peel the other side of the carrot off at an angle as shown above. It should form a V shape

Using the paring knife, cut a notch out at the top to form the indent of the heart

Then carefully cut a groove down the top center of carrot.

Take your time!

3-Using the paring knife, cut a notch out at the top to form the indentation of the heart

Then carefully cut a groove down the top center of the carrot.

Take your time!

Now take the peeler and soften the top and side edges to form a soft curve.

Take the chopper knife and cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

Ta dah!

Enjoy these crunchy, healthy and beautiful gems.

Stay tuned for more heart loven food ideas!

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Upcycled Sweater Hearts – Free Pattern Tutorials

Oh, the things you can do with a brightly colored felted wool sweater heart. I have written several posts over the years about making upcycled sweater hearts. I wanted to update a few things and perhaps bring them all together for you.

Felted wool sweater fabric is like crafting gold, especially for making Valentine’s. Hopefully, you save your scraps when you are making things out of sweaters. Here are a few ideas.

 

Patchwork sweater hearts

Put several different colors of sweaters together in one heart, using this patchwork heart pattern. Here in this post, you can get the download and instructions. Wrap one of these cute hearts up in a cellophane bag and give it to a friend or loved one any time of the year.

 

HEART HAND WARMERS

Sweater Heart Handwarmers

Make a cozy set of hand warmers from upcycled sweaters. Get the free pattern and post HERE.

 

sweater mittensSweater Mittens – Easy Sewing Project for Your Favorite Valentine!

Make a cozy pair of upcycled sweater mittens.

 

How to easily cut out hearts with  felted wool sweaters

Even the smallest pieces can be used to cut out a heart for a card like shown in this video tutorial.

There you have it. A few fun things to make out of felted wool sweaters.

Happy Valentine’s Day My Friends!

jan3

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

Homemade Valentine Gifts From The Heart

valentine gifts

Valentine’s day is one of my most favorite holidays! I enjoy it more than Christmas. One day I contemplated why that is so, and I came to a conclusion. All the other holidays seem to have so many expectations and stress around them. Then in February there isn’t much going on, you are doing all you can to get through the cold dreary winter, and bright cheery valentine gifts just seem to brighten it up a bit. Gives you a little hope.

When Valentine’s day rolls around I know spring is just around the corner. But the real reason I think is that when I was a little girl, this was the only time I ever got a note from my mother. She would buy us all (six kids) a little Valentine treat and place it on our pillows. So when we went to bed on Valentine’s day, there would be a small box of chocolates, or some fun treat and most importantly a heartfelt note from our mother. This meant the world to me! I have done the same for my children, but they get notes from me all year long. 🙂

I do love my mother!!!  Homemade Valentine gifts from the heart mean the world to me and I am sure they will to those you love as well.

Valentine Gift Ideas

Here are a few ideas of some fun things you can make up for Valentine gifts using upcycled materials and fabric you have kicking around the house. There are a few printable items as well that you can download and print.

If you don’t sew or have a lot of time to make something, a heartfelt note, handmade card, a yummy homemade treat or meal is fabulous. The gift of YOUR TIME can be just as meaningful, or even more.

Just let your gift be from the heart. If you are giving from obligation or expecting something in return, the recipient can feel it energetically. Who wants to feel like an obligation or burden? Something to think about. So when you give, make sure it IS from the HEART.

There are still a few weeks left to gather up your ideas, your felted wool sweaters, or your paper and glue and let your creative juices flow!

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