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A garland of 3-D hearts is the perfect way to get busy little hands decorating the house for Valentine's Day. A pretty string of colorful hearts draped over a doorway says "I Love You" to all who enter your home and says "You take our love with you" as they exit. Make a string of hearts for every day of the month and drape it over your child's doorway, bookshelf, mirror, or bulletin board to remind your little one that they have your Heart every day of every month of every year - forever and ever!

What You’ll Need

Red, pink, white and purple construction paper
Oak Tag (or a spare file folder)
Scissors
Glue Stick
Thick yarn or twine (thin string won’t work as well)

Instructions

1. Trace a heart on oak tag and cut it out. This will be your template.

2. Have your children trace the template heart on the red, pink, white and purple construction paper as many times as it will fit on each sheet. Cut out all the hearts, then fold each of them in half down the center.

3. Place your first heart on the table with the fold pointing upwards. Spread glue all over the heart.

4. Take your second heart (of a different color) and place it on top of one half of the first heart making sure to match the center lines.

5. Take your third heart and place it on the other half of the first heart. Now you have a 3-D heart! Make sure the glue is dry before you continue.

6. Lay your yarn along the center of the heart. Put glue on the flaps of either the second or third heart and stick them together to enclose the yarn in the heart.

7. Make as many more 3-D hearts as you like (or as many as you can fit on the yarn) by repeating steps 1-5 and follow step 6 to attach the hearts to the yarn. Before you know it, you will have a lovely string of hearts to hang in your home!

8. You may want to make a knot in the yarn under each heart on the string as you go to prevent them from sliding down if the yarn you use is too thin or in case the glue doesn’t hold up.

You can add a fun twist to the string of 3-D hearts by making a game of it. Hang it in an entryway in your home and when someone gets caught under it they have to name one person they love and why. “I love Grandma because she gives the best hugs!” or “I love Mrs. Jones because she’s super nice!”