Skills Required: None. You’ll be cutting mesh, rolling it, and attaching it to a wire form with pipe cleaners. It’s easy to put this Valentine’s Day wreath together because the colors are random.

I made a lot of mesh wreaths this past holiday season. You could say it was a bit of a “mesh-splosion” around my house. After I made several wreaths for the holidays, I decided I wasn’t out of wreath making mode.

And to be honest? My Valentine’s Day wreath making attempts have been kind of lame in the past. Or let’s just say, I could’ve done more.

There was the vintage style Valentine’s Day wreath I made, and I love that wreath. But you can see from the tutorial, it didn’t take a lot of effort on my part.

So I decided it was time to show you how to make a deco mesh valentine wreath from scratch.

Don’t get me wrong, this wreath is very easy! Yes, I put a little more effort in than prior endeavors, but it’s still perfect for beginners. It does take some time, but put on a movie. You’ll see how relaxing it is.

You’re going to make this project in three easy steps. You’re going to cut the mesh, then cut the pipe cleaners. Then you’re going to attach the mesh to the wire form. That’s it!

Mesh to Use

A few notes because mesh comes in different widths: this uses 6″ deco mesh. Depending on the craft store, you might only find 10″ rolls or wider.

If needed, you can cut down the mesh horizontally as well as vertically. The wreath does look a little bit more frilly.

Where to Get a Form

You don’t have to use a heart wreath form, but they are pretty cute in my opinion! You can get them at the dollar store if you’re lucky. They get sold out pretty quickly though.

You can use a round wire wreath form the dollar store if you want to keep the project inexpensive and you don’t care about the heart. OR you can get a wire wreath form on Amazon here.

Are you ready to make this project? Here’s how it’s done below!

Gather These Supplies

• Wire heart wreath form – 12″
• 6” X 30 ft rolls of decorative mesh
  • Pink – 1
  • Red – 2
  • White – 2
• Chenille pipe cleaners, 12″ – 1 package
• Heavy duty scissors or wire cutters
• Ruler
• Cutting mat
• Rotary cutter (scissors work too, but this makes it easier)

Find a special place on your wall to hang for Valentine’s Day!

Keep your eyes out for more mesh wreaths around here. Because if you think I’m done? I’m not!

Here’s a close-up of the wreath. I love the texture and the sparkle that comes from the deco mesh! I’d love to know if you make this in the comments.

Get the how to below:

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Deco Mesh Heart Wreath

Learn how to make a deco mesh valentine wreath using a heart shaped wreath form.

Course Valentine’s Day Crafts

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1 wreath

Cost $12

Equipment

• 1 Heavy duty scissors or wire cutters
• 1 Ruler
• 1 Cutting mat
• 1 Rotary cutter or scissors

Ingredients

• 1 Wire heart wreath form – 12″
• 5 rolls 6” X 30 ft rolls of decorative mesh pink (1), red (2), white (2)
• 1 package Pipe cleaner(s) 12″

Instructions

• Cut several 10" lengths of the mesh – all three colors – using the rotary cutter. You'll be working with a bunch of 10" x 6" pieces you're going to roll into tubes. You will cut additional pieces as needed.
  
• Take approximately ten pipe cleaners and cut them into four pieces each. You will cut additional pieces as needed.
  
• Take one of the lengths of mesh and roll into a tube (not too tight). Pinch in the middle.
  
• Bend around a wire on the wreath form and secure by twisting a pipe cleaner toward the wire.
  
• Repeat this process with the rest of your mesh pieces, alternating colors to make it random.
  
• Continue until you have covered the entire wreath form. You might opt to have less toward where the heart connects at the top so that it's easier to see the heart form. Hang with a ribbon or nail.
  

Video

Notes

Step 1: Cut several pieces of all three colors at once. I found it easiest to use a rotary cutter (with a ruler if you want to make sure the line is super straight). However, you can definitely use scissors. The rotary just sped up the process.

I usually start with about 15 tubes of each color because I know I’m going to need at least that many. Then I add as needed.

Step 2: Honestly, you can use any color pipe cleaners – you won’t see them. I usually try to coordinate white one of the colors in my wreath or use white.

Step 4: I recommend starting towards the bottom, but you can start anywhere.

Step 5: Reference photo for the back of the wreath:

I’d also love for you to check out these other posts:

• Christmas Mesh Wreaths Even the Grinch Would Love
• Valentine Pom Pom Garland with Hearts
• Make a Halloween Wreath with Deco Mesh
• Valentine’s Day Gnomes to Decorate Your Home
• 4th of July Deco Mesh Wreath with Sparkly Stars
• Witch Hat Wreath with Dollar Tree Supplies
• DIY Christmas Candle with Dollar Tree Supplies

The post Stunning Heart-Shaped Mesh Wreath for Valentine’s Day appeared first on DIY Candy.

Skills Required: Beginner. You need to know how to paint canvas and the basics of cross stitch to complete this project.

I’m so excited to share this project with you! It’s one of my favorite projects EVER. Do you have any favorite quotes or song lyrics that you love? You know, they make you happy when you read them on a page or hear them sung on the radio.

The Beatles songs are like that for me – my mom loved listening to them when I was young, and we used to sing the lyrics in the car on rides home from school.

To remind me of those fun times when I was little, I cross stitched on canvas with The Beatles lyrics “all you need is love.” If you have a phrase that bring a smile to your face, this project is fun (and easy!).

This canvas makes a sweet gift if you personalize it for the recipient. If you do what I did, this canvas makes a great Valentine’s Day decoration, too. Here’s what you’re going to need.

Gather These Supplies

• Printer and plain white paper
• 12” x 24” canvas
• FolkArt acrylic paint – Aqua (or color of your choice)
• Printed pattern of a quote or lyrics (here’s mine)
• Embroidery thread – for my pattern, one skein covered about three letters – I used four skeins of white and one skein each of a few shades of pink
• Embroidery needles
• Tool to puncture your canvas – I used a bead reamer like any of these
• Scissors
• Painter’s tape

REMEMBER TO REVERSE THE PATTERN if you use letters. You are taping the pattern to the back of the canvas, and you want it to show up correctly on the front.

ALSO IMPORTANT: every stretch canvas like I used has a wood frame. That means that you can’t make your pattern the full size of the canvas because you can’t stitch edge to edge.

You’ll need to consider the measurements inside of the wood frame as the size of your stitching area. If your canvas has a wood crossbar, that’s fine. Those are easy to stitch behind and around.

Get the printable how to card below:

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How to Cross Stitch on Canvas

Learn how to cross stitch on a cotton duck, stapled canvas from the craft store using embroidery floss.

Course Wall Art

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Dry Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 canvas

Cost $12

Equipment

• Printer with plain white paper
• Scissors
• Tool to puncture your canvas bead reamer or awl
• Embroidery needles

Ingredients

• 1 12” x 24” canvas
• 2-3 bottles FolkArt acrylic paint Aqua or color of your choice
• Printed pattern of a quote or lyrics here’s mine
• 6 skeins Embroidery floss for my pattern one skein covered about three letters – I used four skeins of white and one skein each of a few shades of pink
• 1 roll Painter’s tape

Instructions

• Paint the canvas with acrylic paint. Give it three layers (completely cover it) and let dry.
  
• Print your cross-stitch pattern and tape the pages together . . . then tape the pattern inside the back of the canvas (in the center). Make sure that it fits within the wood frame, or you’ll need to print again until it fits.
  
• Use the bead reamer to puncture through the paper pattern and canvas from back to front, at each corner of every "X" on the pattern. If your bead reamer has a sharp tip, it’s very easy to punch through.
  
• Thread your embroidery floss through the needle and tie a knot (several times) at one end. Begin cross stitching your canvas, following your pattern exactly.
  
• This is how the back will look. When you finish a strand, tie off the floss by threading under several stitches. Then begin a new strand.
  
• When you get to the last word(or whatever word you would like to highlight), change the floss to another color. Finish in the same way.
  

Notes

Step 2: Here’s how I created my pattern. I searched for “cross-stitch letter patterns” online, and then used Excel to place x’s in the boxes to duplicate the letters. I then reversed the pattern (since I was taping to the back) and printed to fit. You might have to print a few times to make sure that your pattern fits your canvas – see my attached pattern document for a sample.

Step 3: Just be careful as you are punching– don’t rest the canvas on your leg!

Step 4: I did not remove individual threads from the floss strands – I just used the strand as a whole.

This is one of my favorite home decor projects of all time – it makes me happy every time I see it on the wall. Now you have to make one for yourself, right?

I’d love to hear what you think of this project in the comments. I’d also like it if you checked out these other cross stitch and wall projects:

DIY Pillow • Flower Sweater • Glue Art • Hand Embroidered Magnets • Magazine Collage Art • Mod Podge Canvas • Pom Pom Wall Hanging • Poster Hanger • Song Lyric Art • Wall Decals • Yarn Wall Art • Yarn Wall Hanging

The post Can You Cross Stitch on Canvas? Yes! Here’s How appeared first on DIY Candy.

Skills Required: Beginner. These are a relatively easy craft even if you have little crafting experience. You’ll be spray painting, and I recommend patience for that. Use several light coats and let dry between coats.

Who doesn’t love Christmas cookies? I love them a lot, and I think people know that – because they love to give them to me in cute little Christmas cookie tins! And of course I will gladly accept (it would be rude not to!).

When the holiday season is over and the cookies are long gone, I’m left with containers that I’m not quite sure what to do with. Well, wasn’t quite sure what to do with until now.

I decided to upcycle my Christmas tins into two things: 1) cute storage and 2) new gift holders! I plan on using these to hold items in my craft studio and also to hand out baked goods to the neighbors.

You aren’t going to believe how easy this budget friendly Christmas craft is to do. You just need a few items and you may already have them in your craft stash!

Fill the insides with goodies like candies and cookies if you are going to gift.

And as I said, you can use these as storage too. Because who doesn’t need more storage?

This is such a fun, post holiday winter craft. Get the how to below:

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Recycle Cookie Tins

Learn how to recycle cookie tins from Christmas using a bit of spray paint! This is an easy idea for even a beginning crafter.

Course Crafts

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Dry Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 3 tins

Cost $0

Equipment

• Scissors

Ingredients

• 3 Christmas tins any shape or size
• Spray paint
• Adhesive letters
• Gift tags
• Twine
• Washi tape

Instructions

• Wash the cookie tins using mild soap and water. Let dry.
  
• Separate your lids and bases onto a work surface and spray paint them with various colors, letting dry between coats. I did contrasting lids and bases and then one container in just straight gold.
  
• Label some cork tags with names or initials. Use adhesive letters.
  
• Tape the tags to the top of the tins with washi tape to finish.
  

Notes

I used items I already had in my stash, making this project free. I encourage you to use what you already have on hand!

Step 2: Lesson for spray painting – and this is only because I have to tell myself every.single.time. Use short, light strokes and keep 8 – 12 inches away. I promise you want to do this for no dribbles!

Have you ever re-done old holiday items like cookie tins? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! I’d also love for you to check out these other projects:

• DIY Wine Cork Wreath for Easy Decor
• 5 Important Tips for Working with Cork
• Easy DIY Christmas Gifts Anyone Would Love!

The post Recycle Christmas Cookie Tins Into Storage appeared first on DIY Candy.

Skills Required: None. No prior crafting skills are needed for this project.

I’m kind of excited to share this Christmas decor project. It was such a FUN and easy one to put together that I can’t wait to show you!

I love using felt in my Christmas crafts and decorating. I think I’ve proven myself in that regard with felt ornaments, a felt wreath on wood, and felt mistletoe. I even used some old scraps of felt to make the hats for these gnome ornaments!

Once I get obsessed with a craft material, it’s done. I’m going to make anything and everything I can with it! And I’m all about felt and plain wood this year.

I’ve made a basic felt ball garland, and one for winter too. The process is so easy that I decided to repeat it in Christmas colors! And I added some polka dot balls and felt candy canes too.

This garland can be hung around a doorway, on a mantel (that’s how I display mine) or (of course) on the Christmas tree. It’s lightweight and easy to hang up with pins or Command strips. So basically? It can go anywhere!

For this decor, you will need felt balls (I used 48 1″ balls), a skein of embroidery floss, and a thick needle. Embroidery floss comes in skeins that are 8.7 yards long, or 26.1 feet.

These are the supplies you’ll need for one garland, and you can obviously tie two garlands together if you like.

Making Felt Balls

Since I wanted a wide array of different felt colors, I found it more practical to buy my felt balls already made.

However, you can definitely make your own felt balls using roving, felt sheets, or yarn scraps. It’s more time consuming but it’s fun, especially when you can put the kids to work doing it! 😀

How to Make Felt Balls Using Roving

If you want to make your own felt balls, the process is called “wet felting.” You’ll need to purchase wool roving. Besides the wool, you’ll need hot water and dish soap.

The basic process is to dip pieces of wool roving into warm, sudsy water and then shape into balls. Then you’ll let them dry overnight (you can get more details here on the process).

Using Felt Sheets or Yarn Scraps

You can also make your balls using felt sheets (or scraps of felt sheets), or yarn scraps. The process is very similar to using the roving, but you’re going to have to work the material a little more. You’ll still want to use wool felt or wool yarn.

How Many Balls?

How many wool balls will you get out of a 1/2 oz. package of wool roving? Approximately 12 – 16 at about a 1/2″ diameter. It varies greatly depending on how tightly you squeeze the balls, etc.

You can drape your garland over just about anything. I highly recommend doing it the way I’ve shown in the pictures below. If you don’t have anything to hang the garland on, just use thin pins or small nails to hang on the mantel.

Swag every three to five feet for a little interest. You never want to hang it straight. The swag (tacking it up at various points) will integrate into your decor better. Trust me!

Get the printable how-to card for this project here:

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Christmas Felt Ball Garland

Don’t buy a felt ball garland for your Christmas tree or mantel when they are SO easy to make! Use felt balls and embroidery floss and you'll have one in minutes.

Course Christmas Crafts

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 1 garland

Cost $24

Equipment

• Needle(s)
• Scissors

Ingredients

• 50 Felt balls I used 48 to 50
• 12 Red and white polka dotted balls 10 to 12
• 8 Felt candy canes 6 to 8
• 1 skein Embroidery floss

Instructions

• Arrange your felt balls in the order you will string them. You can string out the colors any way you like; I spaced them approximately 1" apart.
  
• Open the embroidery floss. The floss should be about 8 – 9 yards long, and you'll cut in half.
  
• Tie a knot at one end, leaving a 9" tail or so. String a needle onto the other end of the floss.
  
• String a felt ball onto the floss using the tapestry needle. Push the needle through the center of the ball and to the knot.
  
• Continue stringing felt balls onto the floss, doing several at a time. Every so often, add a polka dot ball or a felt candy cane piece.
  
• Once you have several balls on the garland, space them out about 1" apart. Continue stringing balls onto the garland until you get it to the length you want (mine is 8 feet long).
  
• Once you get to the last ball, tie off the end in a knot and trim with the scissors. Your garland is ready to hang.
  

Video

Notes

I used 48 felt balls, .78″ width. Also note that estimated completion times above are for pre-made balls.

If you want to put felt candy canes and polka dot balls throughout your garland, just do it every 6 – 8 balls. The polka dot balls and the candy cane felt pieces are more expensive than the solid color ones, so the garland will get really expensive if you use too many.

Are you ready for a video that will show you how to make this fun garland? Check out the video in this post!

If you enjoyed this project, let me know in the comments. I’d also love for you to check out these other ideas:

• Make a Colorful Paper Garland in Minutes
• DIY Christmas Table Decorations That Impress!
• Halloween Felt Ball Garland for Your Decor
• Candy Garland That’s Cute in Three Easy Steps!
• Christmas Mesh Wreaths Even the Grinch Would Love

The post Make a Christmas Felt Ball Garland in Minutes appeared first on DIY Candy.