Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Valentine's Day Heart Tree Craft

If you're like me, you need last-minute, easy crafts!

I love doing crafts as part of our homeschool, but I'm not big on the planning ahead. I also love projects that use found materials, and don't need a special trip to JoAnn's for supplies.

If you'd like to add a little Valentine's Day cheer to your table, here is a perfect afternoon craft for you and your kiddos! A Valentine heart tree!



This simple and beautiful Valentine's Day decor can be made in an afternoon with a few branches from your yard and that Amazon box sitting in the corner, waiting to be recycled. :-)

Here's what you need to get started:



  • Branches with many small limbs
  • Cardboard
  • Sturdy scissors
  • Thick yarn in red, pink, or white
  • Gold spray paint (optional)
  • Vase or tall glass for display
  • Glass beads, jewels, or stones for the bottom of your jar

Here are the steps:


The first step, which is optional, is to spray paint your tree branch gold. Use an old sheet or a drop cloth, outside, and give your branch plenty of time to dry. 

This craft looks beautiful even without this step! If you like the look of bare branches, by all means skip the paint!



While the branch is drying, cut out some heart shapes from cardboard. You want the heart shapes to be empty inside, as they will act as your forms for making your small yarn heart ornaments for the Valentine tree. 

There is no perfection here. You can draw the hearts with pencil first. For me, cutting cardboard is the least fun part of this project -- but push through! The results are so worth it! Make sure to make your hearts different sizes.



Begin to wrap each of the cardboard heart shapes with thick yarn. You can use any yarn you have on hand, but thick yarn gives better coverage and helps you get the forms covered much faster. Once you finish wrapping each heart, tie off the end in the back. 

A little bit of hot glue can help secure the end of the yarn, as well. Hooray for hot glue.



Loop a piece of yarn around the top of each yarn covered cardboard heart and tie it in a knot. This will serve as the hanger for your yarn heart ornament. 



Fill the bottom of a clear jar or vase with your choice of colored jewels, stones or even sand. Rice works too! :-) 

Stick the spray painted branch into the jar and decorate it with your heart ornaments.


Isn't this sweet and pretty? And it's easy to store the heart ornaments in a little box or bag for next year. Finding a perfect branch every year could become part of your Valentine's Day tradition!


Enjoy! I'd love to see pictures or hear from you if you make your own Valentine's Day heart tree! Leave a comment below!