Hearts abound in my latest shop window

One of the things that I enjoy the most about being a shopkeeper is decorating my shop windows. It can be a lot of work but I love the creativity of it. Although the shop is temporarily closed, due to the pandemic, I’m still changing my window displays. This latest window reflects my love for my friends, my customers, my community, and my little shop.

The hearts were cut out using my Cricut machine, which to be honest, I’ve had for over a year without learning how to use. Some of the smaller hearts were made into banners using decoupage. Here are some of the supplies that I used: Mod Podge, a wide bristle brush, and a brayer. My brayer is actually a Pampered Chef pastry roller. I bought to make pastry, haha. Well, there’s still time to learn how to make pastry. In the mean time though, I found that this tool makes a great brayer. You can use any type of brush that you like to spread the Mod Podge but  I prefer a bristle brush over a sponge brush for no particular reason. I just like the way it feels.

The other necessary items were pretty card stock and something to use as the base for the banner. The card stock needs something to add more stability. Several years ago, I made a banner out of jumbo sized playing hearts for a Valentine’s Day window display. Having some left over from the previous project, I decided to use them as the base for my banner.

The next step in the project was to trace around the card onto the card stock and cut it out. I coated the back of the card with Mod Podge, placed the cut out card stock on it and then rolled the brayer across it using a lot of pressure. This action removes any bubbles and helps the card stock adhere to the base. I let these dry overnight.

The next step was to decoupage one of the smaller paper hearts onto the middle using the same steps as before. Again, I let the decoupage dry overnight.

After all of the garland pieces were completed, it was time to assemble. Two holes were punched at the top of the pieces and then twine threaded through the holes. I then tied three colors of curling ribbon onto the twine and curled.

I hope that you like the finished result.
Try some decoupage! I find it very relaxing.

Cheers,

Virginia