Scandinavian Christmas: Day 4

Today I am thrilled to introduce you to one of the newest Scandinavian bloggers I've met this year, Helena. Helena blogs over at Crafty and Creativity and shares wonderful tutorials and ideas for unique crafts and design. Many of her designs have been featured in magazines throughout Sweden (and beyond)! She shares her incredible photos on her Flickr stream here, be sure to check out her "Christmas Decoration Display" photos - so cute! Helena is also a graphic designer with her own business, Bildbiten. Today Helena will share with us a great tutorial on how to make woven paper hearts, something I've wanted to try for years!

How to make Scandinavian Braided Paper Hearts:

- Cut out the template. (located on Helena's blog here)

- Fold the paper of your choice.

- Place the template on the paper. The dashed line on the template must align against the paper folding.

- Trace around the template with a pen and cut.

- You need two identical "half hearts", preferably in a contrasting color or different patterns.

If you've never braided hearts before I suggest you start with a "dummy" in plain copy paper and mark one half with the numbers 1-3 and the other one with the letters A-C, like in my picture. If you still feel a bit confused, please take a look at this smart tutorial.

Start with no 3:

Thread 3 over C, through B and over A (as shown in my pictures above)

Now it's time for no 2:

Thread 2 through C, over B and through A.

And finally, no 3:

Thread 3 over C, through B and over A.

Now you should be able to open the heart like a basket.

Glue or tape the handle in place. You're done!

Thank you, Helena, for sharing such a great tutorial for these adorable hearts!