Turn some tissue paper into a lovely garland of hearts to drape over doorways, on banisters, on bulletin boards, or on any piece of furniture. This project is great for family, classroom or group craft time. It requires no patterns and uses simple materials. With a little preparation by the adults or teen leaders, this project is fast and fun.
Related craft: For a garland made with construction paper flags, see the Valentine Flag Banner craft project.
Cut strips of tissue paper the length of a sheet and along the folds—about 7" to 8" (18 to 20 cm) wide. Make equal numbers of red and white tissue paper strips.
Make a heart template that will fit the tissue paper strip when it is folded. You might find that the medium size hearts from 3D Valentines are a good size. Make enough heart templates for the entire group.
Fold each strip of tissue paper in half lengthwise, then into quarters or sixths to make an almost square stack.
Place the heart template on the folded stack of tissue paper and use a pencil to trace around it. Be careful not to tear the tissue paper.
Holding the folded stack of tissue paper firmly at all times, cut around the traced heart. It will take about 40 or 50 hearts to make a nice garland length, but you can always make it longer or shorter to suit your needs.
Stick double-sided tape or dab glue onto a red tissue heart at the heart's two widest points and at its tip. Lay a white tissue heart on top. Stick double-sided tape or place a dab of glue in the white heart's center. Lay a red tissue paper heart on top of it. Repeat the process, alternating tissue colors and sticking the hearts together at the edges or center.
Remember that tissue paper tears easily, so be gentle.
Gently open the garland by holding the ends. You may need to restick some points or gently encourage others to open.
Drape the garland. You may need to use tape, pins or weights to hold it in place. Gluing cardstock hearts of the same size as those used in the garland to both ends of the garland may make it easier to handle. Enjoy!
That's it! Where will you drape
your garland?