Thursday, August 1, 2013

Heart Shaped Picture Pick

I showed you my pile of Heart Shaped Picture Picks yesterday.  I made 300 and they were surprisingly easy and quick to pop out of the Sew*CakeMaker Craft Factory.  

Here is how I make them:
I like to use that awesome aluminum wire.  It is thick, yet still easy to bend.  I used pieces between 8-9" for my picture picks.  

Bend it in half.

Then use a pair of needle nose pliers to squish the middle point into a tight nub.

Use the pliers again to bend that middle-point nub downward so you have a candy cane type shape.  It might look something like half a heart to you.

Now, using just your hands, pull the two halves of that candy cane apart, so that each crook becomes a side of the heart.

Next, push the heart stems coming out of the bottom....um, we will call them legs, push the heart legs together so you have a smaller, tighter curved heart, until you have the desired look.

This is where you can either get a fabulous looking heart or a really lop-sided heart.  If you are going for a perfectly shaped heart, find where the bottom point should be so that it is in the middle of the heart.  I twist the wire leg that is on top around just past the middle point and pull the back leg straight down.  This is where you listen to what you see, not what I say.  I feel like I am failing at describing this clearly.

Here is a closer look.

OK, with that bottom leg pointing straight down, the upper leg wrapped all the way around, behind, and then on top again, your heart portion is complete and you are ready to make the back, clip-kind-of thingy to hold your picture or note card in place.

Just take that top leg, make a loop, and tuck the end of the wire back into the knotted bottom of the heart.

That is it!

If I hold my note card up to the light you can see the loop on the back and the heart on the front.  To hold a card or picture snug, just push the back loop and the heart together.  If you do it right you can get a firm hold on that card.

Front view...

Back view.

We are using our 300 in little blocks of birch wood as table seating assignments at my brother's wedding.  Once the guests find their seats and start enjoying the festivities, they can mozy on over to the photo booth, take a fun pic to remind them of the night, and use our handy dandy heart shaped picture pick to display their photo.  


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