Studio 5 Executive Producer, Michelle Torsak shares her easy and inexpensive ideas.
1. Love Letters: Draw names and have family members write a love letter to the person whose name they drew. Decorate envelopes with stickers and stamps and hang sealed envelopes with clothespins from ribbon. Let everybody open their letters on Valentine’s Day.
2. Kids Cards: Kids Valentine’s cards make great garlands. Simply sew or glue gun across a piece of ric-rac for a playful feel. Target has a package of memory cards (includes 128 memory cards) for $5.00. I shopped at the Target on 7200 south and found them on an end aisle next to the greeting cards.
3. Cupcake Liners: Colorful, unique cupcake liners make a bright, cheery garland. Punch a hole in the bottom of the cupcake liner and thread through ribbon or twine. Crunch the cupcake liners just a bit so they don’t stick together. You can tie pieces of ribbon in between groups to create more texture and interest. You can find great decorative cupcake liners at Orson Gygi.
4. Folded Hearts: Cut a large egg shaped oval from a piece of 12×12 scrapbook paper. Create accordion folds with the oval going the long way. Fold accordion in half and hot glue in the center. Creates an accordion heart. Clothespin to a piece of twine or ribbon.
5. Pom Poms: Yarn pom-poms make great garlands. You can create pom-poms easily with a pom-pom/tassle maker (probably not what it’s called) from the knitting notions aisle at Robert’s Crafts. It costs about $9. Once you’ve created your pom-pom’s you thread them onto clear fishing line. Just a note, clear thread isn’t strong enough to support lots of pom-poms, so I prefer fishing line.
6. Paper Straws: I found the most adorable red and white paper straw and Orson Gygi. String them on a piece of jute and hang paper hearts in between.
7. Sewn Hearts: Use a die-cut machine to cut oodles of hearts out of various double-sided scrapbook papers. Place two hearts together and sew through the center of a long line of them. Remember to pull enough thread at the beginning and end of your garland for hanging. Fold hearts apart so that you can see both sides of the paper.
8. Ruffled XO’s: Place a large die-cut X and O in the center of a scalloped cake base (plastic things bakers put cakes/cupcakes on; available at Orson Gygi for $.49). Spray paint base and peel away die-cut letters to reveal stenciled X and O. Create newspaper accordion’s to create interesting contrast.
9. Paper Mache Letters: Wrap yarn around paper mache letters – spelling LOVE. Drill a hole through the letters and string through a piece of rope.
10. Tissue Paper Fringe: Layer three pieces of tissue paper and fold in half lengthwise with a piece of jute running through the center. Staple jute to the tissue paper. Cut tissue paper to create fringe.
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