We have a lot of drawings sitting around, some of which are keepers while others I scan then look for upcycling projects to reuse the paper. One approach I loved before was to cut paper snowflakes from old scrap paper or drawings, so I thought what about making heart bunting from drawing paper? The boys were loving the idea of this project too, so this was a fun afternoon project.
Supplies
Paper – We used plain white printer paper that the boys had already used for drawing. They made sure to draw on both sides of the pages some more for extra colourful hearts. If you’re working with white paper to start and want to include drawings in your creation, you’ll also need collared pencils or crayons.
Scissors – Child scissors if you are doing this as a family project.
Clear or washi tape – Each piece of printer paper creates two sets of three hearts, which you then tape together to create a long stretch of hearts.
Process
I cut the papers in half lengthwise. Each page will make six hearts – three hearts for each half of the paper.
Taking each half a page to work with at a time, fold the strip in half.
Fold it in half, lining up the corners and edges.
Then each of the halves to either side of the centre fold will need to be folded too. This makes three folds total for each half of a page.
Press firmly and always line up the edges and corners for even spacing.
Repeat on the other side of the centre fold.
Almost there with the first half a page.
It will look like this when done and each fold or top peak will be a heart.
Press firmly to make sure it is lined up properly before cutting.
All ready for the scissors. Make sure the three folded peaks are on the left.
Cut exactly like this. Again, the three folds on the left. There will still be two folds on the right side, but the top and bottom are page edges which will later be taped to adjoin to other sections.
This is how it should look after you’ve completed the process. Repeat it however many more times for the rest of the papers you are working with then tape them together edge-by-edge.
Piecing them together was fun. I tried to do it randomly and not overthink it.
Result
A beautiful strand of hearts representing love from afar. This is a tangible reminder for someone you cannot be with who needs to feel loved and cared for.
The resulting 48 hearts are a long strand of loving reminders. Children for scale.
Folded up, it can be mailed anywhere to send love to someone far away.