Valentines Hanging Hearts
Valentine’s Day can so easily become about buying, rushing and consuming, yet at its heart it gestures towards something much quieter, softer and more meaningful: care and connection. When we step away from the noise of the commercial celebration, we are left with a beautiful opportunity to slow down and create together.
Crafting with our children invites us into a shared and gentle practice. Gentle hands, paper folding, colours and materials chosen with care. These moments are not about perfection or outcomes but about presence. About sitting side by side, listening and connecting, and allowing something beautiful to emerge from our time together.
In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to make handmade paper decorations that can be given as gifts or simply hung from a branch or tree as a quiet celebration of love. They are simple enough for little hands!
May this be an invitation to mark the season with warmth, creativity and connection. To each other, and to the small and meaningful gestures that linger far longer than any shop-bought token.
You will need:
A heart shaped template
Watercolour paints – we use Stockmar Watercolours here
String or thread
A bead
1. Begin by using your heart shaped template to make and cut another two hearts from the watercolour paper, for this tutorial you will need 3 hearts to make one decoration.
2. Using your watercolours, add some beautiful red, pinks and oranges to one side of all three hearts before leaving to dry completely. Perfect time to put the kettle on!
3. Once your painted hearts are dry, the next step is to fold each one in half.
4. Next, turn a heart over so the unpainted side is facing you. Glue one half and stick it to the plain half side of another.
5. Before sticking your third heart and sealing it closed, now is the time to place the hanging string inside. You can add a little bead or gem to the bottom which adds weight and is a lovely detail.
6. Then glue the final folded heart to complete the layered shape!
Now you have a beautifully handmade decoration!
And if you have some brass paper fasteners lying around, you could make these sweet gift pouches with your painted hearts too! Simply align them together with their plain sides facing in, attach the handle and secure them with your fasteners. How darling they would look with a few early spring flowers tucked inside!
Images taken for Katherine Small by Katie (a Pocket of Forest)
