Try A Darling Dollar Tree Decor DIY As A Valentine's Day Wreath Alternative

Ever since decorative wreaths moved beyond being a Christmas staple, we've welcomed them in any form, for any occasion. Though decorating with wreaths will always be timeless, maybe you're searching for a gorgeous wreath alternative that will bring modern charm and add some Valentine's Day spirit to your front door. Dollar Tree's Valentine's Day Jumbo Craft Heart is a blank slate ready to be part of an unlimited array of decorations for February 14.

On her YouTube Channel, DIY Beauty on Purpose, the inventive Lianep Carrion shared a way to use this craft heart and only two other supplies from Dollar Tree to create a charming oversized hanging heart. With just a bit of ribbon and some colorful paper napkins, she covers the styrofoam heart with fluffy floret-like bundles to give it a fun textured look. Instead of the typical wreath, this pretty heart can easily be hung from a wreath hook door knob, or as wall decor.

Inspired by Carrion's tutorial, you can make your own stunning heart hanger after a trip to the Dollar Tree. Pick up a foam heart, a roll of Valentine's Themed Heart Printed Ribbon, and a pack of Assorted Valentine's Day Napkins. Plug in your glue gun and grab some scissors and a pencil. If you have a rotary cutter, grab it too; it'll be quicker than using scissors to cut the napkin pieces.

Cut a strip of ribbon about 15 inches long. With the tips of your scissors, make a small hole about 1 inch deep at the top of the heart, between the two lobes. Add a dab of hot glue to the hole and poke in one end of the ribbon with a pencil tip. Follow with a bit more glue, and poke in the other end of the ribbon with the pencil, creating a loop which you can use to hang your heart. Secure the ribbon with a final dot of glue. Next, unfold about four napkins and stack them. You can also do this step with tissue paper in pink, red, or another color. Cut the stack of napkins into strips about 2 inches wide, then cut each strip into squares.

Pinch the center of each napkin square on the printed side and fold the four corners together, making little floret-like bunches. Affix the bunches to the heart, starting where you attached the ribbon. You can experiment with the placement of the florets. Start with a wider spacing, and it doesn't look the way you want it to, fill in the spaces with more floret bunches. Once you've covered the entire surface of the heart, trim any napkin pieces that stick out too far and find a display spot. This DIY Valentine's Day decor piece will look cute and classy enough to brighten your space well beyond the end of February.

If you've got a hankering for a different take on this project, scan the craft and party aisles for other possibilities. There are plenty of ways to modify this project and make holiday decor or door signs for less than $20 at Dollar Tree. Grab some fabric to make a more durable version with the same steps. For a method without so much snipping, go another direction with by sticking on a coat of colorful pom poms or faux flowers to cover the heart form.

If the cute patterns on your napkins are too tempting to leave out of your design, try this method that shines a spotlight on the patterns. Cut the napkins as you would for the floret style, but roll them into a loose ball, leaving a relatively smooth face on each ball to show off the V Day motifs. If the balls are a bit too small, stuff them with cotton filling or napkin scraps. Keep one side of the ball smooth, and bunch the corners in the back like a sachet. Glue the balls to the heart with the smooth faces showing, and place them close enough to each other so that the form beneath isn't visible.

Another pattern-centric idea that's much less time consuming is to decoupage the heart with napkin pieces. Using Mod Podge, cover the entire heart with the cut pieces you'd use for florets or balls, overlapping them in an artistic way. Cover your completed heart with another coat or two of Mod Podge and let dry before hanging it.