Valentine's Day Bowl Fillers

Homemade Valentine's Day decorations can add a touch of fun and love to any space. Fill a wicker basket with some sewn Valentine's Day Bowl Fillers from Cyndee Kromminga - it's an inexpensive way to decorate for the holiday. Stamp phrases on to each of the hearts for a personal touch.

Materials:

Card stock
Scissors
Pencil
Muslin scraps
1/2-inch letter stamps
Black ink pad
Straight pins
Sewing machine
Stuffing
Red embroidery floss
Embroidery needle
Red acrylic paint
Paper plate
Toothbrush

Instructions:

Fold two standard-size, 8 1/2-inch-wide by 11-inch-long sheets of card stock in half with the short edges matching. Crease the folds. Open the sheets and cut them in half at the crease lines. You now have four halves. Set one half aside for another project.
On each of the remaining three halves, free-hand draw a heart that takes up the entire card stock half. You do not want each side of the hearts to be identical. Imperfection is what you are going for. Cut out each heart. These are your pillow patterns.
Place the patterns on scraps of muslin and trace around each one. Cut out the hearts.
Using 1/2-inch letter stamps and black ink, stamp "I LOVE YOU" on one heart, "A BUSHEL AND A PECK" on another heart and "AND A HUG AROUND THE NECK" on the last heart. You may want to practice the placement on your pattern pieces first, but since this is a prim craft, perfectly spaced letters and words are not necessary.
Place each stamped heart face down on more muslin scraps and pin them in place. Sew the stamped hearts to the muslin backs using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Leave a 2 1/2-inch opening on one long edge of the hearts for turning and stuffing.
Cut out each stitched heart using the stamped hearts as your guide. Trim the seam allowance to 1/8 inch. Clip the points and the valley between the heart bumps to eliminate bulk. Turn the hearts right side out.
Stuff the hearts. Close each opening with a primitive whip stitch using red embroidery floss.
Pour a small amount of red acrylic paint on a paper plate. Dip the bristles of an old toothbrush in the paint. With the bristles pointing down, hold the toothbrush over a heart that has the stamped side facing up. Scrape your thumbnail over the bristles to splatter the paint onto the heart. Repeat on the remaining heart pillows. Allow the paint to dry.