Feeling the love

I've been very inspired by Pinterest this Valentine's Day.  For Jackson's Valentines for preschool, I made the one that's been floating around Pinterest and blogs for a while:

Gavin and I had a lot of fun last week....

I've been obsessing over garland on my mantel lately.  I showed you the pom-pom garland I made for Christmas and loved having it up.  So it was only natural to try something for Valentine's Day. 

I got 6 sheets of felt.  Remember from my pom-pom garland that I have a HUGE mantel, (about 14 feet long) so you probably won't need as much as me.

I cut the sheets into 1 inch strips and then in half, making them about 4 1/2 X 1 inch each.

Then I sewed the ends of two pieces together.  I didn't even stop between each set.

Just keep going and make a big long chain.  Then cut them apart to separate each set. 

When they are all separated, open them up and make a heart shape....

....then sew the ends together.

Just like before, you don't have to stop.  Just keep going between hearts.

And make one big long heart chain.  Then cut them apart. 

Then I strung them.  Take a needle and thread and start threading.  (At first, I used clear thread, but that didn't really work.  It was sliding too much when I hung it on the mantle, so I restrung it on white thread.  It worked much better!)

I like that it's kind of hand made and child like looking.  And it didn't take too much time, unlike those pom-poms.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!