creative valentines week: security tinted envelopes heart garland tutorial

Have you ever seen how pretty the inside of security tinted envelopes are?  I really hadn't stopped to notice, until Maya from Maya*Made mentioned them a while back.  So I looked, and I loved.  (Thanks Maya!)  From that day on I started collecting them and using them in different art/craft projects.  (They also make a perfect matching game for the little ones!) I love coming up with new ways to use it.

And that is how the Security Tinted Envelopes Heart Garland was born!

So to make this:

(Yes, my little fashionista totally wanted to be in the photo!  I couldn't say no.)

You need lots of these!

The rest is pretty simple.

Materials you'll need:

♥ Many security tinted envelopes.  I was able to cut out one heart per envelope.  For my garland  I used a total of 17 envelopes. 
♥ Assorted colors card stock or craft paper.
♥ Two heart stencils in different sizes.  (I made my own by folding a paper in half and cutting out half a heart.)
♥ Heart hole punch (optional) or you can make your own tiny hearts (using the same steps as the heart stencil.)
♥ glue (I used good ole Elmers glue)
♥ twine ( a bit longer than the length of the garland)
♥ clear masking tape

Tutorial:

Begin by tracing the larger heart onto the security tinted envelopes and the small ones onto the card stock.  Cut them out.  Then hole punch a bunch of tiny hearts from the remaining scraps of card stock and/or envelopes.

Time to start sorting!

I first sorted them out on the floor to see what pattern I wanted.  Once I was satisfied I then decorated several hearts by gluing the smaller card stock hearts and a couple of tiny hearts here and there.  Let it dry for a few minutes.  Then I taped the finished hearts to the twine.  Listo!

A festive heart garland to decorate your home.

Happy crafting!