Creating these pretty little heart ties was so easy, they can be used to tie gift bags closed, add to gift packages as a pretty bow ornament or drape and display as ornaments year round.

I started out by downloading this Ephemera Hearts collage sheet from Shabby Cottage Studio Be sure to check out her other collage sheets, she has 2 very nice heart sheets.

This sheet gave me 6 sets of 2, with a few extra single hearts to use for other altered art projects. At a cost of 2.50 for a download that you can print over and over again, that translates into very inexpensive gift packaging and embellishments.

Even though I have a huge collection of hearts in my own image collections, it was just too easy to purchase a sheet that was ready to print!

I cut up the sheet into smaller sheets and glued them to heavy chipboard. I also used a complimentary paper on the backside of the chipboard for a nice finish.





Then with a good pair of sharp scissors, I cut out all of the shapes. Most of the hearts on this sheet are in pairs of one small and one large.

After cutting out the hearts, ink stain or distress the heart edges. This will cover up any jagged cuts from the scissors.
I then hole punched a very small hole for a rivet, and added rivets in colors complimentary to the design.

The ties for the hearts can be made from anything!
I used ribbon on mine but you could use wool, fibers, string,even shoelaces! The length I used for my ties was 26 inches, but you could also have several sets of hearts ready and only add the ties as you require for your package or add the hearts on after the package is tied.

To add the ribbons, I sliced the ribbon edge into a long point to feed through the rivet hole from back to front. Then I double knotted and trimmed to the knot. The ribbon ends could also be glued to the backs and there are many other creative ways to finish the ribbon ties, however I choose the fast and easy method!

The heart back allows room to write personal sentiments or add your signature.

Do not limit your heart ties to just heart shapes, any shape of interest will work very nicely for package ties.

You can also embellish your hearts with additional trinkets or buttons for your own creative flare!
If you would like to purchase finished heart ties with complimentary gift bags, they will be available in my store under a new category called fabric (coming soon)
If you would like instructions on my pillow slip gift bags, please watch for an upcoming lens here at Squidoo or contact me to send you the link to the tutorial when it is completed.