Joannie shares how to create a Valentine Heart bouquet, a great alternative to the usual gift card or box of chocolates you give on Valentine's Day.
Keyword conversation hearts, Valentine's Day
Cook Time 3 hourshours
Total Time 3 hourshours
Servings 1Bouquet
Author Joannie Hambel
Cost $10-15
Equipment
1 Pair of scissors Utility type to cut pipe cleaner and paper
1 glue gun
Ingredients
6sticksPipe cleaner cut in halfgreen
3pairsSocks
2sticksGlue for hot glue gun
3piecesCard Stock 8.5 x 11Light Pink
3piecesCard Stock 8.5 x 11Dark Pink
6pensGel or other type
1rollGreen floral tape
6pencilsI used Valentine themed
1-3BagsCandy for vase filler
1rollribbon - enough to wrap around vase and make a bow
Instructions
Create the Sock Rosebuds
Separate your pairs of socks so that you can make six "rosebuds".
Fold your socks in half from the toe to the cuff.
Then fold your socks in half again, but lengthwise.
Roll your socks like a sleeping bag from the toe to the cuff.
Grab your half piece of pipe cleaner, wrap it around your sock rose bud, then twist to secure. Bend the ends back into the "rosebud" to form the "leaves".
Take a pencil and insert it into the base of your "rosebud".
Repeat to the other five socks. Place in the vase for later.
Create the "Heart Arrows"
Fold all of your pieces of card stock in half. Press the crease down firmly with a a pen or a bone folder.
Open the folded paper up and fold the ends into the center crease. See the pictures in the post for a reference.
Cut or tear the card stock along the first center fold.
Nest two of the folded pieces of card stock together and repeat to the other pieces of card stock. You should have 6 total. I alternated the colors as I went.
Draw half of a heart on one of your paper assemblies, using the crease as the center of the heart and then draw a smaller heart on another assembly the same way. Cut them out. When you open the creased paper half heart you should have a perfectly shaped heart. Use these as stencils for the rest of the hearts.
Fold the heart back up and trace the larger half heart on three of the assemblies and trace the smaller half heart on the other three assemblies.
Cut out all of the traced hearts.
Assemble the hearts together
Take a smaller heart, add a line of hot glue on the folded back and press it into the crease of the inside of a larger heart. I chose to alternate my colors.
Repeat this to all of the other cut out hearts. Group assembled hearts into groups of 4. You should have 24 total heart assemblies and 6 groups.
Take one of your pipe cleaner halves and one of your heart assemblies and place a line of hot glue along the back of the heart, press it against the end of the pipe cleaner.
Grab the second heart assembly, I alternated my color pattern as I went, place a lien of hot glue against the back crease and then press that against the end of the pipe cleaner and the other center crease of the first heart assembly. Repeat this process so that you have four total heart assemblies on the end of every pipe cleaner.
Attach the pipe cleaner to the pen
Place a dot of hot glue at the end of your pen and then press your pipe cleaner to the glue so that the tips of the hearts just touch the end of the pen. Let that dry and repeat to the other 5 pens.
Take your floral tape and wrap it around the heart and pen assembly and continue to wrap it down to the tip of the pen.
Before you get to the end, trim the pipe cleaner so that the sharp end will be covered by the floral tape.
Pull the floral tape tight against the end to tear it. Press it against the pen to so that the floral tape seals against itself.
Repeat to the other five pens.
Create the Heart Bouquet
Arrange the heart arrow pens and the rosebud pencils together in the vase. Pour the candy in around the pens and pencils to keep them all in place.
Wrap ribbon around the vase and tie a bow. Because my vase is tapered I used a small dot of hot glue behind the bow to secure it to the vase.