DIY The Sweetest Valentine's Day Decor With A Dollar Tree Pool Noodle Garland

You're someone who loves to decorate; It doesn't matter the holiday, you are adorning your home with the colors, themes, and ornaments of the season to fully embrace the celebration. While Christmas, Halloween, and even July 4th are easy to decorate for, Valentine's Day can be a tricky one. After all, there are only so many flowers and candy-inspired trinkets you can find in the stores, and you can certainly go all in on the pink, red, and white color scheme, but these may still fall short of your needs. If you've been searching for creative DIY decor you can add to your home this love-themed season, a giant candy garland made from pool noodles might bump to the top of your list thanks to the colorful and fun element it brings to any space. Simple, crafty, and reusable for other occasions (birthdays or theme parties), this garland is sure to become one of your most relished projects.

When gathering your supplies, keep in mind your color scheme and how you want the final product to come out. For example, if you don't want to paint your pool noodles, try to find colors that already match your Valentine's Day decor or the candy colors of the necklace (i.e., pinks, reds, whites, blues, greens). If you prefer, you can paint over your pool noodles to get the shades you want. You will need at least two noodles, wooden heart boards, paint, and a paintbrush, and heed a word of caution before painting them: always use latex or water-based options to avoid melting the styrofoam.

The wooden heart boards can come from inexpensive stores — like Walmart or Dollar Tree — and can vary to whatever size you prefer. Use at least two or three to ensure they are thick enough to show against the pool noodle "candy shapes." You can swap out the wood hearts for foam or cardboard since you will paint over it. You will also need a long length of thick yarn, string, twine, or rope. Start by cutting off 2- to 3-inch sections of pool noodle all the way down so you have a collection of small cylinders. Once you've chopped your noodles up, you want to take scissors or a knife and pare down or round the edges of each cylinder (top and bottom) to give them a softer finish.

Allow all your painted pieces to dry (pool noodle cuts, giant hearts), and then you can begin stringing them onto your chosen material. You can also add smaller hearts or "candy theme" shapes between the pool noodles for a creative approach to this DIY. Once it's all strung, you can hang or drape your garland from shelves, a mantle, a bookshelf, or a table to really bring in the festive vibe! Make multiple to hang outside your home paired with a Valentine's Day wreath alternative or indoors for extra color.