Ask most people what comes to mind when they hear the word, “February,” and they will answer, “Valentine’s Day, Love and Flowers.” I’ve combined these three themes into one, and created a Valentine Tag Tree. This project was very economical. The only item I purchased was the pack of tags. I had pressed flowers on hand, and the twigs were free, gathered during a Winter walk.

I created the hearts out of maple keys. A few years ago I collected hundreds, small and large, in colors of green, beige, pink and red. I cut away the seed and pressed them within the pages of books. I love finding new ways to use the keys.

I chose Winsor & Newton’s Iridescent Medium to add a bit of sparkle to the keys.

The medium didn’t cover evenly, but I liked the rivulets and blots it created…they added more interest and sassiness.

The maple keys were easily trimmed into half a heart shape, and glued together, creating beautiful and unique Valentine hearts.

I glued on a few pressed flowers. Hydrangeas, while not as vivid as the day they were picked and pressed, still added a hint of blue or a green hue.

I used a fine-tipped permanent marker in brown and added words of love and a few swirls on each tag.

I enjoyed creating a Valentine Sampler with the finished tags. I was tempted to glue these down and frame them, but decided to stick with my original idea…a Valentine Tag Tree.

The base was easily constructed, a piece of floral foam, a bit of hot glue, and a ceramic urn. Spanish moss hid the mechanics of the container. A substitution for floral foam would be a grid of tape across the top of the container. Aluminum foil could also be used to wedge the twigs securely in place.

If you don’t have pressed flowers you can use bits and pieces of magazines, seashells, twigs, moss, heart shapes…there are so many choices for these tags. Most of all enjoy yourself.