Easy RV Mod -> Make Danish Christmas Hearts!
It’s the day before Christmas Eve and we’ve been decorating! One of the things I’ve done since I was a child is make woven Danish Christmas Hearts (Julehjerter). The story goes that these were invented by H.C. Anderson in the 1860’s and they’re a firm Danish tradition. As kids, all of us would make at least one every year, and even though I’ve shall-we-say matured I still love to do these. So, I figured I would mark this day by sharing a piece of my history while giving you a super-easy, super-fun (and most importantly super-compact -> great for RV storage) Christmas decoration that anyone can make & share. You can hang these around your rig, on your Christmas tree (we always do) or even fill them with sweets for the kids.
Now, Danish Christmas Hearts can get pretty complicated, but I’m going to share the most basic version and then you can always expand and get more creative on your own. You only need 5 basic items for the project:
1/ Piece of cardboard (to make a template)
2/ Colored paper (shiny stuff is nice)
3/ Scissors
4/ Tape
5/ Ruler
A sister in a Cookie Monster T-shirt is also super-helpful, but not a firm requirement.
With all your “stuff” gathered bring in the whole family, sit down and get started
1/ Make A Template
Making a cardboard template is not a requirement, but it really helps if you’re planning on making a bunch of hearts, plus it keeps everything symmetrical. The key to the template is to create a square base with equally-spaced “legs” and a rounded top. You can use any rounded item to trace the top semi-circle (we used the tape casing) and any straight edge to make the sides. I’ve given you the exact dimensions we used in the bottom pic, but you can make ANY size heart your heart desires 🙂
2. Draw the straight sides
3. Measure out equal spaces for the “legs”
4.-5. The final template -> the bottom part is a square
2/ Cut Out Your Heart Pieces
You need two folded pieces of paper cut to the dimensions of the template. Choose different colors and make sure the folded side of the paper is aligned with the bottom straight edge of your template. This is the part where the sister in the Cookie Monster T-shirt comes in handy.
2. Fold your paper in half
3. Draw around the template making sure to keep the folded edge of the paper aligned with the bottom (straight edge) of the template
4. Cut out the pieces
5. And voila…you’re ready for step 3
3/ Weave Your Heart Pieces Together
This is probably the trickiest piece of the puzzle, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really, really easy. You want to weave the “legs” of your hearts together starting at the top side and working your way down. The key to the weaving is to insert the “leg” of the 1st piece completely inside the “leg” of the 2nd piece and then do the reverse (insert the “leg” of the 2nd piece completely inside the 1st piece). Keep going until you’ve finished one whole “leg”, then push it up and move onto the next one. If you’ve done this correctly the finished heart should open up like a clam. Hopefully the pics explain it better than my writing does.
2. Make sure to insert the “leg’ of the 1st piece completely inside the “leg” of the 2nd piece
3. The first “leg” complete
4. Move the first “leg” up and continue weaving the 2nd leg
5. Keep going until the entire heart is done.
6. Cut a thin piece to act as a “hanger” and tape it onto the inside of your heart
7. As an added fun thing write your name and year
8. There it is!!! The final woven heart
And that’s it folks. If you make one each year and write the date inside you can look back 30 years from now and have 30 love-filled memories. From my heart to yours…how much better does it get than that? Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël and Glædelig Jul everyone!!!
Wow, that’s pretty interesting. Do you hang it on your Christmas tree?
Looks like you are having a blast this Christmas season, in France no less.
Steve and I wishes you a joyful Christmas and a great year ahead.
Yup, we typically hang them all over the Christmas tree. We’ve got hearts from the past 35 years that we use to decorate the tree. Always fun!
Nina
Very cool project! Thanks for sharing:)
Merry Christmas!!
Thanks! These are so fun to make.
Nina
Yay! You got the images into the email!
Priecīgus ziemas svētkus! 😀
Well…kind of. I used my “old” method of posting pics (not the gallery) . Sadly the gallery issue still has the same email bug.
Nina
Thank You. Nice project to do with my grand kids.
Yup, this is perfect for grand kids. Enjoy!
Nina
The pics came thru on the email!!
Yeah, I “cheated” on the pics. Still don’t have a solution for making them work with gallery mode, but the directly inserted pics do fine.
Nina
Thank you so much for the Danish Christmas hearts. Being of Danish descent, the child in me (@ 74) was thrilled and especially for the instruction. Many thanks for the memories.
Oh how fun! So glad I’m able to bring you back to your roots. Enjoy!!
Nina
God Jul til deg, Nina. Takk for at du minnet meg om hjertene. Har ikke laget de siden jeg bodde i Norge. Mange takk. Else
Mange tak Else! Hope you have a lovely Christmas in Marin.
Nina
Very cool, indeed, and it looks super easy. I’m going to cut and past your instructions to make these with the GrandKiddles. Thanks! And a Very Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🙂
Oh excellent! They are such a fun family project. Love passing these along!
Nina
I’ve been following you for awhile.Love your information and copied your hearts to share with grandkids. Thanks for your energy & wisdom. Hailey, Idaho heading to Arizona 1/7
Wonderful! Hope it’s not too cold in Idaho. Have a good trip to the desert in Jan! Maybe we’ll see ya down there.
Nina
Brilliant…just brilliant…have a wonderful holiday…
Thanks!! It’s fun to share some of our oldest traditions with others.
Nina
These are great Nina. I just love the idea of hearts for the holidays. It’s all about love after all. After I do your simple one, I’m going to look for a book with patterns for others like those gorgeous ones you showed first. Many thanks! And happy happy Holiday to you and to Paul out there in the desert!
Yup, I totally agree. The holiday is all about love. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about making these. It’s a sharing of that sentiment!
Nina
I love your Christmas hearts Nina. What a wonderful way to decorate the tree. The very best to you and Paul for a Merry Christmas and a blissful 2014!
The hearts and the live candles make quite the special combination. Merry Christmas to you and Terry too!
Nina
Merry Christmas! Found these woven hearts last year researching Danish traditions. Made a bunch for my tree and family. They are fun to do. thanks for sharing!
How fun!!! Love to hear about others who discover this and make it part of their holiday traditions.
Nina
Best wishes to you and yours for a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Thanks for sharing so many fun and interesting things this year.
Thanks Russ! The same to you two too! Looks like you’ve had some of the white stuff up there in Oregon.
Nina
Thank you, Nina! These are such fun to make! I’m curious how the process differs if you want to make some of the more complex designs? A very Merry Christmas to you, Paul & your family!
Never mind–I just founds lots of patterns online!
Oh excellent! Can you post your link in case others are looking for more patterns?
Nina
I hope this works:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=363100.0#axzz2op4FC2Gz
The process is the same. It’s mostly just the cutting pattern that changes. Enjoy!
Nina
Nina,
I hear you are having a storm in the south of France. Merry Christmas and thanks for a great year of bloging. On to 2014!
Yup, we’ve had some pretty crazy winds here. LOTS of winds in the NE and pretty hard winds in the southern mountains. It’s not been too bad here, but we’ve definitely seen some dark and stormy days.
Nina
I understand you were at the state park outside Alamogordo, New Mexico. What was your impression of it ? Which archive issue of wheeling it can I look up your thoughts ?
Oh yes, we LOVED that spot! It turned out to be one of our top 5 scenic campgrounds of the year. Here’s the review:
https://www.wheelingit.us/2011/04/23/sp-campground-review-oliver-lee-memorial-state-park-alamogordo-nm/
Nina
And by the way, you can access all our NM park reviews here:
https://www.wheelingit.us/category/rv-park-ratings/nm-rv-park-ratings/
Nina