Valentine’s Day paper chains are a ton of fun to make and an easy holiday craft that both kids and adults will enjoy. These garlands are also perfect for an easy DIY Valentine’s Day decoration.
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In this post, I will be explaining how you can quickly and easily make three different kinds of Valentine’s Day paper garlands. At the end of the page, you will find a free printable template that I have created which will make the process much easier as well.
What is a paper garland?
Paper garlands are fun DIY decorations that you can make to decorate for Valentine’s Day this year. They are great for decorating, your home, office, classroom or anywhere else that needs some festive decor.
This craft is great for kids and adults of all ages. All you need is some paper, a pencil and a pair of scissors.
Supplies needed:
- The free printable Valentine’s Day Garland template (the download link is located at the bottom of this post).
- Construction paper or printer paper
- Cardstock for template (printer paper will work fine as well if you do not have any cardstock on hand).
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Tape or glue (This is optional. You can attach multiple paper chains together to form a longer chain).
How to use the template:
Step 1: Print out the template.
If possible, I would highly recommend printing the templates out onto cardstock as opposed to regular printer paper. While standard printer paper would work as well, cardstock is thicker and will make tracing the shapes a bit easier.
Step 2: Cut out each heart shape along the dotted lines.
Using scissors, start by cutting out each heart and then setting them aside.
Step 3: Fold the paper chain
Start with a rectangular strip of paper.
Fold piece of construction paper or printer paper in half. Unfold and then cut along the crease to form two rectangular pieces of paper.
Fold the paper in half three times.
Using only one side of the paper, (keep the other half for additional paper garland) fold it in half. Fold it in half two more times for a total of three folds.
Unfold and refold accordion style.
Unfold the strip of paper and begin refolding it again accordion style along the creases that you just made.
Accordion style means that you will be folding the paper back and forth along each crease.
If done correctly, you will end up with paper that looks somewhat like a zig zag. It is very important to ensure that the left hand side of the folded edge and the right side open up similar to as if you are opening a book.
Trace the template.
Start tracing the template onto the folded piece of paper. be sure that the right side of the design falls off the edge just a bit. This will ensure that the hearts connect to one another.
Due to slight printer difference and paper size variations, the edge of the template might not line up perfectly.
If this is the case, simply extend the drawing a bit so that the edge of the heart hangs off the right side of the paper.
If this is not done, you will end up having four separate hearts instead of a chain.
Cut and unfold.
Finally, cut along the lines and unfold to reveal your paper garland. Feel free to repeat this process as many times as you would like to create a longer paper chain.
Free Printable Valentine’s Day Paper Chain Template:
This template has been designed to fit onto a standard 8.5×11 inch piece of white cardstock or printer paper. For the best results, I would recommend using cardstock if possible.
Three template shapes will print on the same page. The folding instructions will be at the bottom of the page as well.
Please feel free to download and print as many copies of the templates as you would like. However, please do not edit or redistribute the files in any way. These templates have been created for personal use or classroom use only.
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