Rustic Love – A Cute Craft for Valentine’s Day or as a Lovey-Dovey Gift

Sometimes I make Valentine’s Day crafts and think “oh that’s cute,” and then sometimes I make them and my jaw hits the floor and I want to marry them because I’ve fallen in love. The same is true for this Valentine’s Day craft idea. It’s simple, which you know I like simple and easy crafts, and it’s one of those things that your friends are going to ask where you bought it.  So…whether you want to make this to decorate your home or to give as a gift, this is a cute idea. Plus they don’t only have to be for Valentine’s day. Make them in all white to give to someone as a wedding gift or for a couple that’s expecting their first baby.  I don’t know if I like them more in white or pink and red. Disclosure: The white one has a big red thumbprint on the back of it.  This is a great craft for groups to make. In face, I got the idea because my kids made these in a nativity style for their church group and then sold them to raise money for missions.  Tip: The biggest time commitment when it comes to making this craft is in the time to paint them. If you’re going to do it as a group, consider using flat spray paint so they will dry quicker and be ready for the next step. 

So let’s make this! 

Step 1 – Gather your supplies. For this craft you will need:

• 1.5″ X 1.5″ wood board from the lumber store cut into 5.5″ and 6″ lengths. 
• Round wooden balls – I used 1 1/4″ Dowel Caps from Hobby Lobby
• small wooden hearts (the same ones I used in this Vday project)
• paint – skin tone and white, red, and pink
• hot glue gun
• sandpaper
• twine

I recommend using chalk paint for this project if you’re going to paint it by hand simply because it dries so fast. Start by cutting the wood into 5.5″ and 6″ pieces.  After your wood is cut, sand the edges to round them slightly. You just want to take away some of the sharpness of the edges.  After I sanded the wood, I painted the round wood pieces that will be the heads each a skin-tone color.  Then you paint the other wood pieces. For the white dolls, I painted one longer piece and one shorter piece white. The other dolls I painted the shorter piece a light pink and the taller piece red.  Once it’s dry you want to sand the edges again to remove a little bit of the paint. This helps give it an antique/ rustic feel.  Once it’s lightly sanded, glue the head on top using hot glue. And yes, my hands are covered in paint because I was rushing to get this project done but it’s totally worth it.  Glue the two pieces together but you have to be careful! The bottoms need to be lined up correctly or they will lean to one side.  Now take your twine, put a small dot of glue on the back of the decoration to hold the end of the twine, and then wrap it, criss-crossing around the blocks, around the middle of it. Use another dot of glue to hold the end of the twine after you’re done.  The last step is to steal two small wooden hearts out of the LOVE Shadowbox and glue them on top of the twine.  Do you love them as much as I do? Sigh. The messy hands and paint on my table (oops) are totally worth it.  Other than painting, this craft is very quick. The best news is that since it’s a rustic style craft, it’s hard to mess it up. Anyone can make this. Will you give it a shot?  Save this to Pinterest –  Or if you want other ideas, try the LOVE shadowbox: