Heart on a wire

Hello!  I am Kelly from My Soulful Home. 

This week marks my 6th month as a blogger. Each day has brought new challenges, opportunities and friends my way.  Kerryanne is one of those friends, so it is with great excitement that I guest post here at the Shabby Art Boutique. 

I am sharing with you an easy & fun tutorial for making a heart wreath from a wire hanger, scraps of material and some embellishments.  I love several things about this project: you can make it spur of the moment, as it is likely you have the necessary materials on hand; it involves re-purposing an item that is often discarded; and, you can make it again & again using different embellishments. 

 

The one I am showing you today has a "shabby" seaside look.  If you visit my blog you can see the one I made for July 4th using a vintage flag & red burlap ribbon. Once you create the basic heart let your imagination run wild with ideas to personalize it, make it seasonal or even leave it plain for a simple country look.

My daughter Lara and I had a wonderful time making this heart. We pulled out lots of supplies & let our imaginations go.  I especially love getting lost in the process of crafting something special out of something mundane.  This project fits that bill.

I call it “Heart on a Wire”.

 

To make a “Heart on a Wire” you need things you probably already have on hand:

• a wire hanger;
• wire cutters;
• needle nose pliers;
• a strip of fabric about 90″ long & 2.5 wide;
• embellishments.

1. Untwist the top of your hanger & bend in half with the rounded top as extra;

 

 

2. Shape the two ends into the rounded parts of the heart;

 

 

3. Press the two sides together to check for symmetry ~ does not have to be perfect as fabric will cover it;

 

 

4. Cut off the top off the hanger ( the part that would sit on the rod ) leaving about an inch to make a loop later;

 

 

5.     Lay out your fabric strip…fold it in half  the long way ( this maybe easier to do with an iron..UGH, I know, ironing, but just for a minute or two;

6.     Sew a seam down the length of your fabric so the wire can slide inside it;

 

 

7.     Thread the wire into the fabric ‘tube’ & scrunch/shirr it as you go;

 

 

8.    Twist the ends of the wires together with the pliers & your fingers;

9.    Using the pliers, twist the extra inch of wire up to form a small loop ~ the loop will be where you attach ribbon or such for hanging and/or the embellishments;

 

 

10.   Now the fun really starts ~ decorate your heart!  Use ribbon, novelties, flowers…

Fill your ‘heart ‘with things you love!

 

I used burlap, linen, a metal tassel that came off a yard sale shelf & a shell.  I have so many ideas for wire hearts that I stopped off at the dry cleaner to get a stash.  I plan on making one for my door and Lara wants me to make a few in different sizes to hang from her bed post.

…now that I have all these hangers do you have any more ideas?

 

Thanks so very much to Kerryanne for giving me this opportunity to connect with you!  I hope you enjoy the tutorial and give it try.  If you do, stop back at my blog and let me know how it went and how you decorated yours.

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