Framed Paper Hearts

A friend needed a pick-me-up (in case you were wondering why I'd make that and write "Someday"). Favorite thing about this: the shadows that the hearts create on the poster board.

You can see the colors a bit better in this one.

 p.s. Got the idea for this from my cousin Christy @ creativelychristy: framed paper hearts who got it from someone else.

-Bought a plain, light colored frame from D.I. (thrift store). The glass was broken, so I couldn't use it, but it allowed me to get a little creative and use tulle to hang it with. Cut the tulle pretty long and folded it about 4x so that my friend can hang it at whatever length she wants.

-Sprayed the frame w/ primer and multiple coats of glossy white spray paint. I thought I'd like matte white better, but the glossy isn't very glossy and looked better.

-Bought a heart cut-out puncher thingy (found in the scrapbook sections at craft stores). I think it's a 1 1/2" size heart.

-Went through old Elle Decor magazines, looking for solid colors and cool patterns that were big enough to fill the heart shape. Punched punched punched. Sorted the hearts and tried to decide which colors or patterns to use. (Now I have lots of extras for another such project!) The colors I chose sorta had to do w/ my friend's situation. The sorting and figuring out which ones to use and in what order were the hardest parts of this project. But not really that hard.

- Then folded them in half. (Also had to trim most of them b/c the heart puncher didn't punch very neat edges. Boo.)

-Bought a precut mat from a craft store (Michael's to be exact. It's close by.) Originally bought a white one, but white on the frame and the white of the mat didn't match. Went back - took the frame w/ me - and found a color that looked good w/ the frame. Gray. And I like how the colors of the hearts look w/ the gray. Bonus! Also had to make sure the rows and columns of hearts would fit inside the mat.

-Cut some poster board, using the original piece of cardboard backing as a template.

-Hot glued the mat to the poster board. Although, this could be done last. Whicheva. ;)

-Used my engineering or architecture scale (can't remember) to figure out the spacing for the hearts. (Those scales are just fancy rulers for landscapers, like me. But they made that part of the project really easy. Gotta know how to use them though. I wouldn't suggest going out and buying one if you don't know how to read the different sides.) My cousin Christy has a more standard explanation for this part, with pictures: Framed Paper Hearts.

-Dabbed plain ol' glue down the folded spine of a heart, eye-balled where inside the penciled box it should go, and carefully stuck it on the poster board. Did two or three and then went back to the first and re-folded it so the glue didn't make it lie flat as it dried. Repeated that process till done.

-Found a font I liked and practiced writing it so that I wouldn't mess up. I was still quite nervous to put it down in pen! But *phew* I didn't mess up. Much relieved.

-Erased the pencil lines after the glue had dried. Wrapped the tulle around the frame. Put the mat and hearts in the frame w/ some hot glue (I don't have high expectations for those old, worn, little tabs in the back to hold it all in). Took pictures. The end!