DIY Corrugated Cardboard Heart Garland

Love this sweet, DIY corrugated cardboard heart garland. Paper heart garlands are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to decorate for Valentines Day. While I feel kind of old to be doing Valentine heart projects…it still hasn’t escaped me yet.

Corrugated Cardboard

No boxes were completely destroyed for this project! Using the flaps from a cardboard box simple hearts were cut, painted and strung together with jute.

Step 1: Create the Pattern

Begin by creating the heart pattern by folding a piece of paper in half and cut half the heart shape on the fold so when you open the pattern you have a symmetrical heart shape. I’m sure this was learned in elementary school, but just in case have a look at the pattern in the photo below.

Step 2: Cut Out the Hearts

I cut a heart pattern from a folded piece of paper and traced 8 hearts onto the cardboard flaps. Using your symmetrical heart shape pattern, trace hearts onto the cardboard and cut them out. My DIY corrugated cardboard heart garland hearts are approximately 4″ x 4″.

Step 3: Peel

Once I had finished cutting out my hearts, I used a fork to peel away some of the outside paper to let the corrugated inner portion show through. Pull the paper in random places so no two hearts look the same.

Step 4: Paint – DIY corrugated cardboard heart garland

Using acrylic paint in the colors red and white, I mixed to create a custom pink. Some of the hearts remained red and others became somewhat variegated in their colors. I was completely okay with their look.

Step 5: Antiquing

The next step is to antique the hearts giving them a little dimension and a vintage look. I used a bit of wood gel stain on a soft cloth to brush along the edges.

Step 6: Holes & Jute to String

Once the hearts were dry, I used a hole punch to punch holes in the top of each heart for hanging. To speed up the drying process, I used a hair dryer on low to assist in the drying. For accuracy, I used my paper heart for a template for an exact placement for the holes in each cardboard heart. I punched holes and strung them on about 6′ of jute for hanging. This depends on where you are going to hang your Valentine swag. I didn’t tie knots at each heart. I just moved them where I wanted them and they have stayed put.

Step 7: Hang & Enjoy

Happy Valentine’s Week!