fawn&forest

A bean filled felt heart for your sweety. What could be more charming? Gather a few simple supplies (one piece of felt, a large needle, embroidery style thread and some beans, lentils or rice) and you're set. This project is brilliantly simple + completely adaptable.  

Felt is a nice fabric to work with as it does not need to be hemmed + it does not fray. Layer the 2 equal size pieces of felt on top of one another. With free-hand scissor action, cut out a heart. A loppy one is fine, just be sure that the 2 hearts you cut are roughly the same size. I embroidered my son's first 2 initials "eq" to the top side of the heart. If you choose to embroider, do this now. For more information on embroidery + for simple stitches, visit DMC.

I think it's more charming to hand stitch the heart closed, but by all means, use a machine if you have one. Start by sewing the hearts together at the top "valley" point of the heart (about 1/4" in from the edge), stopping an inch before the ending point. Funnel in beans, lentils or rice. Best if you do not fill the heart too full, leaving room for some floppiness. Carefully finish stitching the heart closed, doubling up the stitches at the end so your beans don't fall out.

Making a bean filled heart need not be too fussy + would be a special project to do with the kids.