To battle the January feelings of blah and post holiday depression I created Glimmer & Glitz Snowflakes! I wasn’t ready to take them down yet so I wanted to create a fun little addition for Valentine’s Day. Introducing heart shaped snowflakes or HEARTFLAKES!
Heartflakes
My snowflake tree has been a nice little sparkle in my day as I sit and drink my coffee in the mornings. The snowflakes sparkle and shine in the light and move slightly when the forced air comes on. It is almost like real snowflakes fluttering as they fall.
If you need these snowflakes to brighten your winter the tutorial is here: Grade School Paper Snowflakes on Glimmer and Glitz.
If you like the tree, you can make it here: Our Ornament Tree ~ So Simple and inexpensive to make ~
Heartflakes are a ridiculously simple and fun way to add some Valentine’s cheer to your space.
OK, lets get started!
Supplies
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Paper
- Heart stencil or you can draw your own heart
- Fishing line or ribbon of choice
- Wax Paper or other table protection
- Mod Podge (Glossy) or watered down Elmer’s glue
- Buffalo Snowflakes or Glitter
Let’s Make Heartflakes
Cutting your Heart Shapes Out
- You will cut out your Heartflake base shape first which if you haven’t figured yet is a heart. I had a heart stencil on hand that I used but you could easily reach for another gradeschool skill and make your own.
Folding your Hearts
- Once you have cut out your desired size hearts you are ready to start folding. There are multiple ways you could fold this and no set number on how many folds you make before you cut. Initially and for most of the Heartflakes I made I did three simple half folds:
- First, fold the heart in half. This step would be done already if you fold cut your hearts.
- Second, fold the point of your heart up to the middle of the rounded section.
- Third and final, fold the other direction with the point section on the outside.
Below I also will show you an easy fold and cut, fold and cut as well.
Cutting your Design into the Heartflake
- Next up is my favorite part. Cutting. There is just something so calming and relaxing about scissors to paper for me. I just cut at random because I like the suprise when you open it all up. Below I have included some cut examples and what the final HEARTFLAKE looks like though.
You can also cut with the heart folded just in half and then fold another way to get some cuts in the middle area.
Adding Glimmer to your Heartflakes
A Little About Material Options
My daughter begged me to use glitter this time instead of the fake snow I used for the Grade School Paper Snowflakes on Glimmer and Glitz so I obliged. I really prefer the snow look over the glitter look but they are pretty all ways. Another daughter request was not to use the Mod Podge due to it’s strong smell. I did a little experimenting before working with her and you can sort of see the results here:
The Mod Podge gives it a sheen that the other two don’t but that is hard to see in these photos. I will show you some other photos further in that better reflect the differences. That way you can best decide your preferred materials.
At my daughter’s request though we used the watered down Elmer’s glue and glitter for this project.
Elmer’s Glue (watered down) and Glitter Process
Ok, grab your freshly cut heartflakes, glue, a paintbrush, and your glitter of choice. Make sure to lay down a protective layer to protect your surface. I used wax paper.
- Start by applying your watered down glue to the heart with a paintbrush.
- Take your glitter and sprinkle it over your glue painted heartflake.
- Then, carefully lift up the heartflake and move it to a clean area on the wax paper so it is less likely to stick down.
My daughter really enjoyed this project.
Note: Another downside to using watered down glue over Mod Podge is the paper curled much more than the snowflakes I made prior did.
To combat this, I put them between wax paper and put them under a book for a day (once they had dried of course).
Options, Options, Options
So we got the Heartflakes done with glitter and watered down glue and they were sandwiched between books to flatten. My daughter was thrilled. I was sitting on my couch enjoying my morning coffee and looking at the glimmer and glitz snowflakes on my mantel and that shine…. I had to have it on some of the heartflakes. So back to experimenting I went.
Experimenting and Comparing
Glitter + Glue
First, Glitter + Glue & then, Mod Podge + Buffalo Snowflakes
Mod Podge + Buffalo Snowflakes
A Side by Side: Glitter + Glue vs. Mod Podge + Buffalo Snowflakes.
Results of the options I tried!
I would love to know which you like most.
Glitter + Glue
ALL OF IT
Mod Podge + Buffalo Snowflakes
Mod Podge + Glitter
Hanging the Completed Heartflakes
I simply hung the Heartflakes on fishing line as I didn’t want to see any ribbon where I was hanging them. However, you could get really fun and creative here with decorative ribbon if you wanted.
I took down my blue snowflakes before hanging the Heartflakes to avoid it looking like the 4th of July!
Decorating with your Heartflakes
There are so many ways to add these to your home decor. Since I set out to give my snowflake tree a little love for Valentine’s Day I hung mine there.
Swooning Over the Shine with the Mod Podge & Buffalo Snowflakes
The Glimmer & Glitz Snowflake and Heartflake Tree
Heartflake Garland
Just string fishing line through your Heartflakes and you have Valentine’s Garland!
TO GET THE FULL LOOK:
Heartflakes
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Our Ornament Tree ~ So Simple and inexpensive to make ~
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Grade School Paper Snowflakes on Glimmer and Glitz
Your turn to create
I would love to hear if you gain inspiration from this post and make your very own Heartflakes!
