tutorial :: a sweet valentine necklace

How many slams in an old screen door? 

Depends how loud you shut it. 

How many slices in a bread?  

Depends how thin you cut it. 

How much good inside a day? 

Depends how good you live 'em. 

How much love inside a friend? 

Depends how much you give 'em.

― Shel Silverstein

I adore Valentine's Day. Some people fuss that it's a holiday invented by greeting card and chocolate companies to part us from our money, but as far as I'm concerned... a holiday celebrating love + friendship? Hooray! When my older son started kindergarten and he had to make 20+ Valentine cards (one for each of his classmates), I was secretly thrilled.  The world can never have too many doily-bedecked, kindergartner-scrawled cards.  Now that my second son is in 2nd grade, we still go full-force into Valentine production every February, and this year we made the sweetest Valentine necklaces. Simple and perfect.  Just a small felt heart strung on a piece of embroidery floss -- "a heart on a string," if you will.

SUPPLIES

-- Wool felt

-- Embroidery floss

-- Fabric scissors

-- Needle which will accommodate embroidery floss

STEP 1 :: Use fabric scissors to cut small hearts from felt.  Our felt hearts are approx. 1 in. (25 mm) long, and we used traditional Valentine colors, but you could cut your hearts larger or smaller and in any rainbow of colors you please!

 STEP 2 :: Cut 15 in. (38 cm) lengths of embroidery floss.

STEP 3 :: Thread needle, string a heart onto each piece of floss, and pull through so that the ends of the floss are even.  Tie a knot just above the heart and then knot the ends of the floss together to create a necklace.

STEP 4 :: Try on a necklace and admire yourself in the mirror because you have good taste and are well accessorized. Keep one necklace for yourself and give the rest away so that everyone you know will be well accessorized, too.

xo mb