So Valentine’s Day was coming up and I needed to come up with an idea for a gift for my mother-in-law, who by the way LOVES anything made by that little devil ANGEL of mine! And I had a lot of left over scrap pieces of wood from my other projects because I just can’t throw anything away since i know that somewhere down the line I’ll need it again (which I argue with my hubby all the time about). So I decided to make this DIY Wooden Heart with the little dude, who loves getting messy.
I was able to cut down on that big pile of scrap wood and got to prove to my hubby that I DO NEED to keep scrap piles… ha! And made an awesome gift for my mother-in-law! Win- win!
Follow my video tutorial below or just scroll down and read my step by step instructions for this super easy and fun DIY project!
Stuff you will need:
- Scrap pieces of wood
- 1/2 inch screws
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- Decorative rope
- Decorative metal clip (I got mine from here)
- Hot glue gun
- Red and white paint (I got paint samples from Lowes)
- Carbon Paper (I got it here)
- A little person’s hand and feet prints
- An electric sander or just sand paper to do it by hand
I started out by going through all the wood I had in my scrap pile. Since I had an idea of what I wanted this to look like, I knew which ones I needed. I put them all together and started by screwing another piece of wood from the back to hold it together, so I could cut it with my jigsaw.
Once you know it will hold together, you can start cutting with a jigsaw. I ended up using a couple of pieces to hold it together. Then I drew the heart freehand but feel free to use a projector, if you have one. Those things are AWESOME!
There are definitely better ways of doing this step but this is the best I could do with the supplies I had on hand at the time.
It takes some practice and patience using the jigsaw but its not hard once you get the hang of it. This is one of my go-to tools, which I stole borrowed from my dad’s garage. I had it for so long that he just ended up buying a new one and I got to keep this one! 🙂 Thanks Dad!!
Next step is to sand. If you’re lazy like me then definitely add this little tool to your gadgets, because its awesome! I absolutely got my money’s worth out of this tool! They are very inexpensive considering how handy they are.
Now you’re ready to paint. I got these little paint samples from Lowes which are a great buy for projects! Little goes a long way with these.
And all of this during nap time!! What more could a DIY Mama ask for…
Next, I needed my hubby’s help to get the little guy to cooperate with the hand and foot prints. It was hard to keep him from running around the house with white paint on his feet but we did it! Team effort! Look at those little chubby feet… sigh!
Next, I googled some fancy letters and printed them out to transfer. You could certainly just pick a font and print it out from Microsoft Word. I used carbon paper (I bought mine here) to transfer it on to the wood.
You’re all set to paint. This step requires a steady hand and patience. Painting is a form of stress reliever for me so I enjoy it!
I bought decorative rope from Michaels with a 40% off coupon for this next part. I used a hot glue gun to glue the end of the rope to the back and put a screw through it as well, for some extra reinforcement. This piece is heavy so you want to make sure it is secure so it doesn’t fall especially with a little one running around.
Next step, I glued a metal picture clip i bought online (here) and added a little picture. The great thing about this project is that you can change the picture every year to keep it up-to-date!
And you’re done! This wooden Heart Decor can be placed on top of a mantle or hung on a door like I did in the picture. My mother-in-law loved it and me and the little guy had a lot of fun making it! I hope you do too! Please let me know what you thought in the comments section below and if you’re trying this out, I would love to see some pictures!