DIY Heart Bunting from Paper

The beauty of being crafty is that there are always lots of things to make and do to keep your environment fresh without having to spend any money. I’ve recently been suffering from tonsillitis which has meant I’ve been spending alot of time on the sofa, under a blanket in the living room watching TV and it made me realise that I’m a bit bored of the ‘welcome home’ bunting that I made a while ago and fancied a change so after dosing myself up with some soluble aspirin and a hot drink I made the journey up the stairs to the craft room and got started on some new DIY heart bunting.

To make the DIY heart bunting you need:
4 sheets of A4 paper in the colour of your choice
Twine
Stapler
Hole punch

1. Cut each sheet of paper into 1″ strips lengthwise. Each heart uses six strips of paper. I used a Stanley knife and my magentic cutting mat for ease but you can just as easily do this with scissors.

2. Of the six strips you need, cut two to 5″ length, two to 6″ and the remaining two to 7″.

3. Place the two 7″ strips together and punch a hole about an inch from the end of the paper and then another about 1cm away from the first.

4. Thread one end of the twine through both bottom holes and then thread each end from the outside of the top hole to the inside of the strip – this will leave both ends of twine in between the two strips.

5. Now place a 6″ and then a 3″ strip on each side of the two 7″ strips – at one edge the ends will all be even, at the other they will look like the below.

6. Staple the even end of the strips together. If you place the staple along the length of the strip rather than the width it gives the heart a better shape once finished.

7. Take the 3 strips of paper from the left hand side of the heart and push the ends so that they are aligned – this will cause the longer strips to curve out.

8. Repeat for the other side and bring them down to meet the other strips. Staple across the width of the strips to secure into place.

9. Knot the twine to form a small loop at the top of the heart ready for hanging.

10. Repeat the above for the amount of hearts you need.

11. Cut a length of twine long enough for the area you plan to hang your bunting and thread it through the loops at the top of each heart.

12. Hang your bunting in place!

Obviously being made out of paper this isn’t outdoor bunting although you would probably be able to emulate the effect with sripts of oilcloth or PVC plastic. I love how rustic the twine looks and the grey paper fits in with our living room design just right. Any paper would do for this project – wrapping paper would be good for Christmas or birthday bunting and there’ s no reason why the twine couldn’t be replaced for wool or ribbon. You could also create the hearts to hang individually from cupboard doors or as tree decorations – there are lots of possibilities with this one!