Making Heartfetti?

A few months ago while poking around Etsy I found some pretty cool art work that I fell in love with.  But, it was $50 and I thought to myself, "Self, you could totally just make that yourself".  So, now, a few months later I've finally gotten around to creating my version of the cool art. 

See:

Do you love it as much as I did?  It's ok if it's not your cup of tea, but I couldn't resist a try at it when I saw it.  So, since we are friends and I'm in a sharing mood, I'm going to detail out just how I made it, and, probably more importantly, some things I learned the hard way.

First I started with a trip to Michael's.  Well, two actually, because I couldn't manage to remember everything when I was there the first time.  Like my daddy always told me "What you don't have in brains, you make up for with your legs".  So, two trips later here is what I was armed with:

1. Seven sheets of colored card stock - 2 in white because I didn't want to wish I had an extra, and then the rest in shades of red and pink
2. One shadow box frame
3. Zip Dry glue - its works great for paper because it won't wrinkle your paper when it drys

Then, I googled "hearts" to find one I liked.  I wasn't sure which size I'd want so I printed a whole bunch out and experimented a little.

Once I picked the size I wanted to started tracing and cutting.  Well, that's a lie, the picture clearly shows that I went into the garage and grabbed myself a beer for the cutting process.  As you can see below, I traced the heart I choose over and over again and then started cutting.

It took a LONG time.  Like a really long time to get them all cut out.  To give you some perspective, it took me 1 episode of the Bachelor Pad (2 hours) and 1 episode of Game of Thorns.  So yeah, a long time.

I hadn't really shared my vision with Ryan before starting this extravaganza, mostly because it was hard to explain.  So he spent the evening making witty cracks like "Are you trying to tell me that I missed Valentine's Day?"  or "Did I miss a memo about making Heartfetti?"  He's a funny guy that Ryan, a funny guy.

Anyways, after a few television shows, a few beers and a cramped hand from cutting I ended up with this:

Pretty right?  I'm not sure why my picture came out all blurry but it's the only one I've got so it will have to do.  The problem was that since I'd hand cut each and every one of these cut little hearts (with Love I might add) each of them was slightly different.  A little squared off end here, a shorter point there.  Basically, it wasn't the look I was going for.  UG!!

So, I called it quit for the night, finished my beer and went to bed figuring I'd come up with an idea the next day.  I can't take credit for the idea.  It was all my friend Patty, but she suggested getting a punch.  Like for scrap booking.  Of course!!  Why the heck didn't I think of that first??  I told Ryan my plan and here is how that convo went:

• Sadie:  Hey guess what my friend said.  She said I should get a scrapbook punch instead of hand cutting them.  Isn't that a great idea?  Why didn't I think of that?
• Ryan:  Oh, yeah, I thought of that last night when you were cutting.
• Sadie:  Wait.  What??  Why didn't you say something?
• Ryan:  Because struggling is half the battle G.I. Joe!
• Sadie:  Jerk!

So, I spent the next night like this:

Ahhh!  So much better.  And faster!!!  A few minutes later I had all the hearts I needed and then some!  Again, why the heck didn't I think of that?  It pays to have smart friends.

After I had my pile of hearts ready I started gluing.  I really like this stuff.  It worked great and did just exactly what it said it would do.  Buy it if you've got some paper gluing to do...you won't regret it!

Partly through the gluing process I decided to add this:

It's our anniversary date.  But, you could do anything.  Your name, your honey's name, you get the idea....anything.

So, after a two nights of work (although I'm not sure you can call it work since I was watching TV and drinking a beer) I had a great new piece of art.

I'm not sure this is it's Forever Home, but for today I like it here.  Also, it looks pretty with our redish walls.

Just for kicks, here is the breakdown of the costs for you.  Remember, to buy it I'd have spent at least $50 plus shipping.

• Frame: $10.19 - on sale at Michael's
• 7 sheets of cardstock paper: $1.50
• Paper glue: $4.59
• Heart punch: $4.68
• 3 trips to Michael's:  Free?  Not sure it's totally "free" but well, it didn't cost me dollars
• Total: $20.96

What do you think??  Want me to make one for you?  Have you made any DIY projects lately?  I'd love to hear about them.