Easy Dollar Tree Valentine Heart Mantle Decor

When I want fast, easy, and thrifty holiday decor, I head to the Dollar Tree. If you love crafts, aren’t afraid of a glue gun, and have a passion to create, this is the project for you. Let’s decorate our mantle with some dollar store valentine supplies.

I am fortunate to have accumulated some incredible Valentine decor over the years. Having an antique and consignment store for 10 years definitely helped build that supply! But many of those items are vintage or salvaged.

So when I saw these fabulous hearts at the Dollar Tree, I grabbed them to add a great burst of color to my mantle.

They are bigger than they appear, at about 14″ X 14″.

Can you believe it it already the second Wednesday of the second month of this new year? Time for our monthly Thrift Store Decor Team posts. Seems we are feeling the love and hearts this month. Check out all of the fabulous projects that are linked at the end of this post.

My Naked Mantle

Years ago, we installed cup hooks on the underside of our mantle to hold Christmas stockings. It wasn’t long before I realized that if I place my lights and greenery UNDER the mantle, I would have more space on TOP of the mantle to display my vintage decor items.

One holiday led to another and now I use those hooks all of the time.

Valentine Heart Decor Mantle Hanger

But how would I incorporate these hearts???

They are made of felt so they are a bit flimsy. It would be difficult to string them as they would lop and lean backward. And it would be hard to get them to stay straight.

So I decided to make something to attach them to, something that I could just remove! Attach the decor, hang it on the mantle front, and remove it when finished. I had the perfect solution for this job! Quarter round and tea cup hooks!

Quarter round is a thin rounded piece of molding that sets at the bottom of your floor molding and on top of your floor. It is flat on two sides so it fits snugly against both the baseboard and the floor. The third side is rounded for an aesthetic look. It closes the gaps between your molding and the floor essentially hiding unsightly gaps.

It is sold in large strips but you can cut them to size in your local home improvement aisle. They are priced by the foot. I had some left over from our LVP floor installation a last year. So I went to our infinite supply warehouse, also known as the garage, and grabbed a piece.

I held the quarter round under the mantel and marked the length I would need.

Since the quarter round is so thin, I used a utility knife to repeatedly score the cutting point until I had the desired length. You could also use a jig saw. I even scored with the knife and then used wire cutters. There are many ways to trim this thin piece of trim if you don’t have a jig saw or power saw. Then I held it under the mantle and marked the position where I would install each tea cup hook.

Since my hearts are so lightweight, I only installed two tea cup hooks, one at each end. But for heavier greens or decor items you could use as many as you like. Just space them out evenly.

Simply screw the tea cup hooks (or you can use eye hooks) into place.

Install the screw eyes or tea cups hooks at each position. Hang it up and make any adjustments. My one hook was a little off to the right so I just gently bent it to where it would grab the other hook, that’s why its a little bent.. It would be easy enough to move it slightly, but I’m a little lazy.

I did give the entire creation a fresh coat of white paint so that it would not be noticeable below the mantle and behind the hearts.

Creating a Design

The next part is the fun part…creating a design. I laid the hearts on the floor in front of the mantle and moved them around until I liked the position and look of the hearts.

I grabbed my glue gun and glued the hearts to the front in a whimsical manner alternating colors and styles. If you make a mistake, simply peel the heart off of the strip and try again. Very forgiving!

For added interest, I glued some smaller glittered hearts (also from the Dollar Tree) on top of the larger hearts. I also added some metallic garland for fun.

Here is a brief video of the process:

Continue with any other embellishments until you are happy with the look. The fun really is in the details. Go as extravagant or as simple as you like.

This large heart swag is sure to be the focal point of your mantle.

Show me your Valentine’s Mantle! Share with me on Social Media! Tell me what you have created lately!

Thrift Store Decor Team

And here are the projects from the very talented Thrift Store Decor Team!

Upcycled Lamp Parts Candle Holder  Petticoat Junktion

Coastal Rope Lantern Domestically Speaking

Displaying Vintage Valentines With Yardsticks  Organized Clutter

Embellishing a Pair of Valentine Pillows Sadie Seasongoods

Valentine Heart Mantle Decor Shop At Blu

Easy DIY Rustic Light Fixtures Reinvented Deleware

Succulent Wall Planter Using a Picture Frame  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

DIY Painted Suitcase My Repurposed Life