Valentine Ideas • DIY Twig Heart

Time for me to update my entry ladder, the one I made last spring and have changed with each season. With February's arrival, I updated it for Valentine's Day. This ladder is made from branches and reflects my tendency to incorporate nature into many of my designs. I started with using red plastic solo cups to try and design something creative and weatherproof but that lasted all of 10 minutes of effort. Just not my style. Instead I made rustic hearts from green sticks, twine, bittersweet vines and berries.

I'll post a complete tutorial with my next post because I have been working on improving my photography. I have over twenty images to share and that will make connection time too slow so come back tomorrow for the how to with all the step-by-step photos. Today, enjoy my photographic efforts. ( update: Tutorial is up here)

I made five hearts in a range of sizes. The thickness of the twigs determined the smallest I could craft - which was about 9".

I searched back to memories from my Girl Scout years so many, many years ago and I used a knot designed for pulling in the ends. I thought it was the long shank but when I looked that up I discovered a long shank knot is something else. I'll keep looking but I haven't found it yet. (Update: Here is a link to a video showing the specifics of making a whipping knot - thanks to reader Lynne Carothers for sharing the proper name!)

I added more twine and, after taking out the Christmas arrangements, I hung these rustic hearts from the rungs of my handmade ladder. This is probably the 8th different seasonal arrangement I've made in this ladder, and it is the first time I thought of moving the ladder off my north-facing porch and into the sunshine to get more vibrant pictures!

After the photo shoot I moved it back near the door for more photos.....

I love the red berries (which I pilfered from the Christmas arrangement!) against our siding color.

The twig hearts are a perfect addition to the black birch ladder, which is starting to sprout little white fungi!

Update: Tutorial for the hearts is up here.

Additional update: See the hearts dressed in snowflakes after the blizzard here. Incredibly beautiful.

For those of you just joining my blog, here are links to a few of the other ways I have decorated this ladder over the past year.

Christmas Ladder

Christmas Ladder with Lights:

Pumpkin Ladder

Mid-summer • Queen Anne's Lace

Daisy Ladder for June

A Ladder of Branches • DIY - This is tutorial for making the ladder.

This project inspired me to continue exploring ladders in décor. I collected them ll into a theme page with links to many, many different ways to use ladders in decor

• Ladder Inspiration Series • An Overview

©2013AshbeeDesign, Marji Roy

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