Recycled Beaded Hearts and Six Ways to Show your Love

I guess at this point of the year there must be some, very few of you, that haven't stored your Christmas decorations. Well, let me tell you, that's OK... Really! In my opinion, many Christmas items fit perfectly well with Valentine's decor. So, good for you, no need to go unpacking boxes. ;)

This project began while I was sorting all my Christmas decor and found out I had about 15 of these red wood beaded garlands. Last year I scored a big bunch at a yard sale at $1 each. 

So, I used one of them for this project. Since I didn't want all of my hearts to be red, my first step was to undo the garland and paint some of the beads white.

A small amount of white AS chalk paint was placed on a paper plate and with the help of a paint brush I kept on rolling the beads all around. The picture above is how they look after three coats. They still sported some red specks but that was OK with me.

A wire hanger was used to create the heart shapes and then the beads were threaded. I like that the wire is strong enough to hold its shape, but it's a bit too stiff when time comes to make the closure. The first hearts were closed by wrapping one of the wires around the other (above pic), but the end gap was too big for my liking.

Then, I found a better way, using flat-nose pliers, both ends of the wire were twisted upwards and the end was cut with end-cutting pliers. the ending gap was minimum and the connection less noticeable.

This is how they look after they were closed. I didn't like the shiny look of the red beads.

So, one coat of AS Empire red was applied to the red beads. I also applied another coat to the white beads. It was even easier with all of them strung together on the wire.

In order to give them an antique patina, a bit of dark wax was applied on each bead.

As a final touch, a set of old keys was attach to the three hearts with jute twine.

You know what, I can also use them as Christmas ornaments. ;)

But hey, today I'm teaming up with five great blogging friends to bring you 

Six Ways to Show your Love 

with six easy Valentine's crafts you can put together in no time for V-day!

Please click on the links below and show your love. :)

Recycled Beaded Hearts by Remodelando la Casa

Paper Flower Bouquet by The Happier Homemaker

Valentine's Day Painted Mason Jar Lanterns by Mom 4 Real

Mr & Mrs. Stamped Forks by It All Started With Paint

Himmeli Hearts: A Valentine's Day Craft by May Richer Fuller Be

Easy Non-Candy Valentine by Serendipity Refined

Linking at:
My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable, Funky Junk Interiors, Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch,  Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon, Tatertotandjello,