Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – hearts for Valentine’s Day.

Who would want a heart of stone? That usually indicates a person is unfeeling, uncaring and unkind.

The heart of stone in this project is a delightful decoration that would look wonderful in anyone’s home or yard.

How about a wooden heart? That often indicates a person is uncaring and has a lack of empathy. However, this project is another beautiful decoration to celebrate hearts and love.

As a bonus celebration of hearts project, there are instructions to make a beautiful vine heart made from garden pruning.

HEART OF STONE – WIRE FRAMED ROCKS

This project’s simplicity is what makes it so attractive.

MATERIALS

• Chicken wire. I actually used tougher wire, as it is what I had on hand.

• Smooth stones – large enough so they don’t fall through the holes in your chicken wire. The amount will depend on the size of your heart.

• Pliers/wire cutters

• Thin wire

METHOD

• Cut a length of wire and form a circle so that the two ends overlap.

• Use the pliers to wind the ends around each other.

• Form the wire circle into a heart shape. You can use a form (such as a cake tin) but it’s pretty easy to push the wire into shape without one.

• Cut two pieces of the chicken wire so that they are the same size and shape as your wire heart.

• Place one chicken wire heart either side of the wire heart form.

• Cut another length of wire and start threading it through the two chicken wire hearts with the wire form in between until they are connected about half the way around.

• Add the rocks into the heart shape, pushing them right up against the attached sides.

• When the rocks are covering the entire form, finish threading the wire through the chicken wire heart until the entire heart is securely closed over the stones.

HEART OF STONE – MINI ROCKS

Another fun way to make a heart of stone is to cut a heart shape from thin board, such as MDF (medium-density fibreboard) using box cutters.

• Attach a hanger to the back using a shoelace and staple gun.

• Cover the front with strong craft glue and then cover the glue with small rocks. So simple, yet effective.

WOODEN HEART

I love using MDF board as a base to make all kinds of heart and other shapes because it can easily be cut with box cutters.

MATERIALS

• Heart shape base – I used a cake tin to draw a heart on MDF and used box cutters to cut out the shape

• Staple gun

• String

• Driftwood pieces – when I decided to create this heart, I started keeping my eye out for interesting pieces of wood to use. I was especially on the lookout for curved shapes to help create the arches at the top.

• Hot glue

METHOD

• Once you have your heart shape cut out, attach some string for hanging to the back of the heart, using the staple gun.

• Arrange the wooden pieces to fit within the heart – it’s like completing a jigsaw puzzle.

• When you are happy with the arrangement, gently slide the wooden pieces off the base (so you don’t lose your pattern).

• Cover the heart base with glue and add the driftwood, following your design, on top of the glue.
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VINE HEART WREATH MADE FROM GARDEN PRUNING

Next time you are pruning any vines in the garden, such as ivy or honeysuckle, put a stash away and allow it to dry out completely.

Once it’s dry, you’ll find you can easily manipulate it into a heart shape and strategically placed pieces of tie wire will help it keep its shape.

Why not try making this pretty succulent heart? You’ll find instructions for this project in my post, How to Make the Sweetest Succulent Tree for Christmas. Just use a heart instead of a tree shape.

For some child-friendly heart projects, check out my post, 4 Ways to Make Hearts for Valentine’s

If you’d like more ideas for Valentine’s Day, check my Pinterest board, it’s packed with projects, food ideas and tips.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.