You all know by now how much I like paper! I really think paper can be one of the most simple & economical supplies to create just about anything your mind can imagine! It comes in many sizes, weights, patterns, and shapes! You can create your own designs or find wonderful paper craft kits that help you along the way! Most crafting stores have isles and isles of paper possibilities…from tissues and actual sheets of parchment to cardboard boxes and die-cut shapes galore! You can find banners and garlands and flags and confetti…all perfect for more than their original purpose! If I’ve learned anything over my years of creating & crafting it’s to always look past what the packaging SAYS it is and think of all the other things it COULD be! So Valentine’s Day is on its way and I suggest anyone can find inspiration wandering around favorite craft and party stores…always full of infinite possibilities! Today I’ll share with you the simple creation I made for a holiday centerpiece using not much more than, you guessed it, paper!
a festive Valentine display…
i sometimes organize myself so well that i can’t find anything! does anyone relate? i purchased two packages of sweet paper cupids a couple of years ago when they went on sale after the holiday had passed. guess when i found them? right after i took my Valentine’s Day decorations DOWN last year! what a bummer! i had to wait an entire year to use these little guys because i’d done such a good job re-organizing my craft room! but fortunately i managed to remember where they were hiding this year and knew i needed to come up with something special for these adorable, forgotten fellows…
i love the wings and their bows with twine! there weren’t any instructions on the packaging but i figured they’d be cute hanging since the wings were 3 dimensional. however, i didn’t really have anywhere in mind to suspend them and i hesitated to punch holes in their heads…maybe they would be cute as a bouquet? so i grabbed a package of paper straws to make stems for the cupid “flowers”
an x-acto knife or any sharp blade can make a slit in the straw so you can insert your paper shape…
i just made the slit deep enough to slide the paper cupid down far enough that he would be stable (about a quarter inch)
then i cut straws in different lengths, stuck them in a piece of styrofoam tucked into an urn, and topped each with a cupid…
you could create this with any paper cut-out…try hearts or lacy doilies…both easy to find in a party store! even foam shapes would be adorable and easy for little hands to make! younger crafters could glue the shapes onto a straw or popsicle stick and “grow” them in a paper cup! how about that for a classroom craft idea!? hearts or cupids, cups or planters…