Coiled Magazine Page Heart Tutorial

Recycled Paper Heart from magazine pages by @savedbyloves

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You saw this coming, right?  Valentine’s Day is approaching, and a coiled newsprint heart tutorial is all but mandatory here at SBLC.  This would be a great craft for Valentine’s Day decor or gifts.  The technique is pretty much the same I have shown you in other coiled projects, with the addition of the best paste option I have found so far.  I will share with you the step by step, including the glue recipe that is key in strengthening the strips and neatly coiling/shaping them.

Recycled paper crafts

Supplies:

  • Magazines pages in colors you love
  • Paper cutter or scissors
  • Toothpicks
  • Paper mache paste (recipe below)
  • Wax paper
  • Heart shaped cookie cutter
  • Craft glue (I prefer Crafter’s Pick for these projects because it sticks to the wet strips, grabs fast and dries clear)

Instructions:

  • Fold strips as shown in this magazine page coiling tutorial.  I use a 1/4 magazine page for each strip.  Some tutorials show 1/2 page or full page.  I like 1/4 because I think the end projects look much nicer (less bends and crinkles in the strips).
  • Make your paste as follows:
    4 tbsp. flour
    1 c. cold water
    1 c. boiling water
    1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
    Mix flour + cold water then add boiling water and bring to boil. Add sugar, stir constantly until thick. Makes 2 cups.
  • Dip each strip in the paste as shown, then lay on wax paper to dry.

    Removing excess glue
    Lay strips on wax paper

 

  • Let strips dry; I usually prepare a bunch of strips and make the piece the next day. I am sure a couple of hours would suffice.
  • When you are ready to being shaping your strips, wet each one, one at a time as you are using it.  The paper mache paste makes the strips stronger and wetting them makes them easier to shape,  The paste becomes a little sticky again, helping the strip to stay where you place it.  Wet the strips before use
  • To get the heart shape outline; wrap strip around cookie cutter.  If you are using a larger cutter, you may need more than one strip to go around.  No problem.  Just overlap the strips about 1/4 end to beginning and continue wrapping.  When you come to the beginning of your first strip, overlap the current strip with it about 1/4 inch and trim off any remainder of the end strip.  When that dries, slide heart shape off of cookie cutter.  Making heart from magazine page.Magazine page crafts
  • To make the inside coils, I just start coiling (using strips i have re-wet) and use the outline as a guide to help me figure out what size and how many coils I need.  Place the coils inside the outline, and using a toothpick, place a dab of glue at each contact point (where the coils touch one another and where the touch the outline).  Let your piece dry completely and cover with a couple of coats of mod podge or sealant of choice for durabilityRecycled paper art
    Recycled paper crafts.

The possibilities are endless.  I would love to see what you come up with, and am happy to answer questions!

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