These pop hearts make a lovely gift and they're really easy to make, all you need is a toilet paper roll or some other kind of cardboard tube. We've left ours plain, but you could personalise them with a short message below the heart.
TP roll
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Paint
Craft glue (optional)
Glitter (optional)
Coloured foil (optional)
1. Flatten the cardboard tube with your hand - press down along the sides, so you can see the creases.
2. Squeeze the tube back into shape, then line up the two creases you've just made, in the middle, and flatten again, pressing down on the sides.
3. While the tube is flat, use a ruler and pencil to draw a line across the tube, about 2cm from the bottom.
4. Use the scissors to cut down the two side creases to the pencil line.
5. Squeeze the tube back into shape, then line up the cuts you've just made in the middle, and press the tube flat again.
6. Draw half a heart on one side of the tube and take it right down to the pencil line, but don't bring it into a point here (or your heart will fall off..), leave about a cm.
7. Cut around your heart (younger makers may need some help cutting through the double card). To make it easier to cut out the strip at the side of the heart, once you've cut to the pencil line, bend the card out and snip it off. Repeat on the other side. Then squeeze your tube back into shape.
8. Paint the inside of the tube and everywhere else too, except for the heart. When the paint's dry, use the pencil to draw in the bottom tip of the heart.
9. You could go with the norm, and paint your heart red, (or any colour) - or cover it in a thin layer of glue, and sprinkle glitter over it. Or do both!
9. We decorated one of our hearts with some colourful tin foil kept from Christmas chocolates.
Cover the heart in a thin layer of glue and line up a corner of the foil with the pointy tip of the heart. Then carefully smooth the foil over the card. Cut away most of the excess, leaving some to tuck around the back.
Put some glue on the edges at the back, and mould the tin foil around the heart. If you don't have a big enough piece of foil, it would look good with a patchwork of different coloured pieces too.
Maybe keep some aside this Easter, though care and patience may be needed to get the foil off in one piece!
