Tools
- Heart Outline
- Silk Flowers
- Foam Sheet
- Hotwire Tool Kit
- Outdoor Mod Podge
- Floral Stem Cutters
- Floral Pins
- Grapevine Wire
- Optional: Outdoor Acrylic Paint
- Optional: Ribbon
- Optional: Floral Wire
Step 1: Size and Style your Heart
Decide whether you want to create a full heart, or an open heart. To streamline the process, crafting a single open heart outline serves dual purposes, allowing you to achieve both full and open heart arrangements. Simply cutting along the outer edge results in a full heart, making the creation of both designs efficient and straightforward.
You will also need to decide how you will use your heart arrangement, whether it is with an easel stand, as a wall arrangement, or as a standalone ground arrangement.
If choosing to make an open heart, we recommend that you keep the width of your heart to at least 2 inches all around. This is for stability, and to have room for your flowers.
Outline
You are going to need an outline to guide you when cutting out your heart. You can use thick paper like poster board to create your outline. If you can find a premade heart that fits the size you want, you can use that as an outline instead of creating one.
Keep in mind that which ever material you choose for your outline, the better it is at resisting heat, the cleaner your cut will more likely be.
If you will be using your heart arrangement with an easel stand, be sure to take your outline with you to the crafting store so you can preview your arrangement before building it.
Step 2: Cut your Foam Sheet
To create your foam heart, you're going to need a foam sheet, a hotwire tool kit, and the outline you created or purchased.
Full Heart: Place your outline on your foam sheet, and cut around your outline with your hotwire tool. Our designer prefers to use the U-Shaped attachment.
Open Heart: Cut along the outer path first using your U-Shaped attachment, then change to your needle attachment to cut along the inner path. You will get a small full heart after you cut the inner part which you can use as a small arrangement.
Optional: To keep your outlines stable, you can use floral pins to help you get a clean cut. We recommend that you seal your foam with Outdoor Mod Podge to keep your foam from chipping.
Optional: If you want to paint your heart, you can use Outdoor Acrylic Paint. If you decide to paint your heart, we recommend that you seal your heart again with Outdoor Mod Podge.
Foam Sheet
You can get a white foam sheet at certain craft stores. We recommend, and use 2-inch thick foam sheets for our heart arrangements. You may want to think about getting multiple foam sheets in case you get a bad cut.
Hotwire Tool
A hotwire tool kit comes with different attachments to cut foam. Our designer prefers to use the U-shaped attachment to cut the outer outline of the heart, and the needle like tool to cut the inner outline of the heart.
Step 3: Select your Flowers
Take your foam cross to the crafting store when buying your silk flowers. You can try many flowers, and preview what your arrangement looks like before committing to a style. Previewing your arrangement also helps with buying enough flowers to fill your arrangement.
Explore various styles for your arrangement, whether opting for a cohesive look using a single color and flower type or introducing contrast by using one color for the outer outline and another for the heart's interior. The possibilities allow you to tailor the arrangement to your desired look. You may also add a ribbon, foliage, and accents to add to your arrangement.
Step 4: Glue your Flowers
The last steps are to separate your flower bush, trim your flower stems with floral stem cutters, and glue your silk flowers onto your foam heart.
How much you trim your flower stems to will depend on the depth of your foam. If your foam has a 2-inch depth, you can trim your flower stems to around 1 - 1.5 inches. If your foam has a 1-inch depth, you can trim your flower stems to around half an inch.
Once your flower stems are trimmed, dip your stems into your Outdoor Mod Podge and attach them to your heart foam.
Hanging Cord
If your heart arrangement is used with an easel stand, or as a wall decoration, you are going to need to create a hanging cord.
You can use floral pins, and grapevine wire to create a hanging cord. Use your Outdoor Mod Podge as a glue to secure your hanging cord.
Optional: Ribbon
For an elegant touch, incorporate a ribbon into your heart arrangement by utilizing floral wire and one of the trimmed stems. Begin by tying the ribbon, then wrap the floral wire securely around a stem, intertwining it at the center of the ribbon. To ensure a lasting hold, dip the stem in Outdoor Mod Podge before affixing it seamlessly onto your arrangement.
Article by: The Rosy Arc
Last updated: 11/01/2023