HEARTS APLENTY

Give your home a sweet surprise this Valentine’s Day by decorating with simple crafts full of heart.

Give your rooms a heartfelt lift with cheerful vignettes that symbolize the sentiments of Valentine’s Day.

With winter wreaths taken down and the holiday tree stowed away, the house seems poised for something sweet and heartening. Welcome in the day of love! Valentine’s Day is a fantastic time for crafting your own heart-themed accessories. Besides, who doesn’t love something handmade on this special celebration? No need to worry about expensive commercial schemes and new decor for your country home; instead, gather inspiration from our host of projects to fashion your very own budget-friendly keepsakes. Merge some new ideas with traditional favorites and make thrifty use of greenery and vintage ornaments. Or, try repurposing remnants from other projects to create heartfelt moments to cheer on the season.

Check out our roundup of ideas that only require bits of materials you probably already have. Don’t be afraid to forage in your attic or basement for some clever finds you forgot you had stowed away! Plug in your glue gun, keep your scissors close, and let your creativity run free because Valentine’s Day crafts are just as fun to make as they are to receive!

Sew Much Love

Turn muslin soap bags into a celebration of the season. Cut scraps of red fabric into rustic country hearts and stitch a heart to the front of each muslin bag. Fill the bags with fragrant dried herbs to create sachets or mulling spices to have on hand when making cider on a cold night. These easy crafts can double as cute gifts for friends, so why not place some in a bowl ready for distributing to guests?

Pressed in Place

Many country decorators have collections of old molds once used for making butter and soap. Bring them back into fashion in a fun new way by using heart-shaped molds to craft your own unique ornaments. Begin by pressing air-dry clay into the detailed part of the mold and then carefully remove the pressed shape. Make a hole in the top center of your ornament and let dry. Thread a ribbon through the hole and knot it to create a hanger. As a finishing touch, attach a button and a sprig of greenery with dabs of hot glue. Make several clay hearts for hanging on a wreath or topiary or as embellishments on gifts for your loved ones.

Playful Patterns

Rather than throw away empty candy boxes from holidays past, upgrade them with quilt-inspired motifs. Photocopy pages from a pattern book or use wrapping or scrapbook paper to outfit the boxes with interesting designs. Affix your chosen motifs to the boxes using decoupage medium, and then fill the boxes with small gifts, candy or heirloom mementos. We suggest decorating a set of graduated boxes in a mix of patterns to form a sweet vignette in any space in your home.

Funny Valentine

Embellish cabinet doors, chair backs, drawer handles and doorknobs with festive heart wreaths made out of wire hangers and a collection of vintage buttons. All you have to do is bend each wire hanger into a heart shape—no cutting necessary. Just remember to leave the hook intact for use as an instant hanger. Wrap the wire with jute twine and glue in place. Hot glue various styles of red-hued buttons (perhaps even heart-shaped ones) to the twine until the wreath form is partially or fully covered. This will provide texture and interest to your creation. The best part is that you can store and then reuse your heart wreaths for years to come!

Matthew Mead is a lifestyle guru whose upcycling ideas make excellent use of items you already have or can find easily at thrift stores and flea markets. He is a photographer, stylist and author. Follow his work and upcoming projects on Instagram at www.instagram.com/matthewmeadstyle or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/matthew.mead.37.