Valentine's Day Crafts

I started making a plastic sandwich baggie wreath the other day and found out my daughter took off camping with my camera. I realize I use that thing every single day! She brought it back yesterday and I got a photo of the wreath halfway tied. I got the idea from Garden Web last year, when Oddie made one, and I really wanted to make one for myself this year.




I took a wire coat hanger and shaped it into a circle. Don't untwist it, leave the hook at the top. Bend it with pliers to form a hanger. I looked at a few wreaths, trying to figure out how I wanted to do it, because I saw several different methods of tying the bags on. Here's how I did it: I took about 20 or 30 fold lock sandwich bags ( $1 for a box of 150 bags), stacked them flat on top of each other, and trimmed the three seamed sides. I picked them up one at a time, and flipped the fold lock top up, and folded them into fourths lengthwise, and tied it onto the wire hanger in a single overhand knot. It's probably going to take all 150 bags! In the photo you can see I bought some Christmas decor on clearance( red tinsel-y garland and red metallic bead garland half price) I'm trying to figure how to use it on the wreath! lol ...I'll show it later, when I finish it.



I'm a little upset with myself...I saw this wonderful flower made from a page in a book, cut into strips and folded. I saved it in my favorites, but when I clicked on it tonight to give credit for the inspiration, all that came up was the photo.
I happened to have a paperback book that I could use for this. I buy lots and lots of paperbacks at yard sales for anywhere from a nickel each, to fifty cents each. That's a lot of crafting material on the cheap :D The first one I made I cut the strips with regular scissors. The one in this photo I used pinking shears. I wanted to use my scalloped design scissors, but I forgot where I left them :D So cut some strips the width you'd like, mine are a little under a half inch wide. I used 48 strips for this flower shown. Fold 24 in half and pinch the end flat and glue the ends together on the tips. Take the other 24 and fold the ends together, but do NOT flatten them. They'll be little loops of paper :D The next step was taking 2 flat ones and 2 loops, and staple them together at the very end. Make 7 sets of these. Now, what I did was heat up the glue gun and squeeze out some glue on the very ends and hold them together til cooled. Do this til all 7 sets are glued together in a nice blossom shape. I cut two small pieces off the red tinsel garland, and hot glued a piece in the center of the blossom, front and back. The last piece was hot gluing an old pink rhinestone earring to it, and a silver pipe cleaner for the hanger.

Did I mention that that was the same Tiny Tot stapler I was using the day I almost bled to death?!?! LOL!! Don't try that at home :D



Here is a finished one, and one hot glued together.



I don't know which setting is best. All these are coming out yellow! I hope you can tell it's a pink enamal earring with dark pink glass rhinestones glued to the center.