Stained Glass Tissue Paper Heart
This super simple tissue paper heart is quick to prep, easy enough for little hands to make, yet fun for crafters of all ages. The end result is a beautiful “stained glass” heart that would be perfect to hang in your window as a Valentine’s Decoration.
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We’re suggesting two methods of assembly depending on the age of the crafter. Read on for all the details on how to make this super simple stained glass tissue paper heart.
Materials:
We’ve streamlined this craft so it doesn’t require any hard-to-manage supplies (like contact paper). In fact, you probably already have everything you need on hand.
liquid glue or a glue stick
paintbrush (if using liquid glue) and a cup to hold the liquid glue
2 pieces of black construction paper (see note below)
scissors
tissue paper whatever color you want. (see note below)
wax paper or parchment paper
tape or silly putty (to attach heart to window)
(optional) baby wipes - perfect for minimizing sticky fingers
(optional) printout of heart outline to trace on black paper - at the bottom of this post.
Once you’ve gathered your materials, you’ll need to start by cutting out two heart outlines from the black construction paper. The hearts can be any size you want them. Just remember that the bigger the heart outlines are, the more tissue paper they will require to fill in. One heart outline will be the base of your tissue paper heart, the other cutout will be the top frame of the heart. The two heart outlines need to be exactly the same, so it’s best if you cut both pieces of black paper at the same time.
Alternatively, you can download the attached heart printable (at the bottom of this post). Just print the heart, and cut it out so it’s just an outline. If you can print the heart outline on really thick printer paper or cardstock, then you can use this for your stained glass craft, but if you only have regular printer paper, you need to trace the outline onto black paper. To do this, use white colored pencil or chalk to trace the outline onto the construction paper (twice), and cut out each black heart outline.
A note on black construction paper: I used to buy the inexpensive construction paper multipacks, and I just accepted the muted colors. (The black looks more like a faded grey.) Then I discovered the Tru Ray packs at my local craft store (linked to below for your convenience), and I was amazed at how saturated the colors are. (The black paper is truly black.) For the best result on this stained glass craft dark black paper is a must for the heart outline.
Glue one black heart outline to a piece of wax paper or parchment paper. The wax/parchment paper should be larger than the heart in order to help contain mess. You will cut off the excess later.
Liquid glue is probably best for this step. We didn’t try it with the glue stick, but if that’s all you’ve got, give it a shot.
Then you have two choices for how you fill the heart outline with tissue paper. You can use a glue stick to lay down glue in one small section at a time and add the tissue paper pieces. Or (not pictured here) use liquid glue and a thin paintbrush to paint glue over a small section at a time. Using the paintbrush means you’re less likely to get sticky fingers, but it requires more fine motor skill, so it’s best for older kids.
A note about tissue paper: It’s easiest to work with tissue paper squares that are already precut for you. But I had to go to three different craft stores before I found one pack on the clearance aisle. So I’m including a link below for your convenience. You can, of course, cut your own pieces of tissue paper from larger sheets before you begin the next step.
Don’t worry about being messy at this stage. It won’t be noticeable in the final product. Just have fun with this part.
Get creative.
Mix colors by layering different colored pieces of the tissue paper on top of each other. Be sure to layer multiple pieces of the light colors or they will get washed out when placed in front of the sunlight and not show up very well.
You don’t need to worry about the wax paper getting wrinkled because of the glue.
You don’t need to worry about the tissue paper going over the edge.
You don’t need to worry about glue still showing.
None of this will matter in the final product.
Once the heart outline is filled in with tissue paper, you’re ready for the final steps.
Cut around the black heart outline in order to remove the excess parchment/wax paper. As you can probably tell from the image above, I originally cut off the excess parchment paper as my last step, but it was difficult to do that carefully. I recommend you do it before putting on the top black heart outline.
Glue the other black heart outline directly on top of the bottom black heart outline.
(optional) Older kids may want to add strips of black paper randomly across the finished heart to make it look more like stained glass. It’s best to glue these black strips to parts of the black heart outline and not to the tissue paper.
All that’s left is to hang your stained glass heart in the window. We kept it simple by using rolled up pieces of scotch tape to adhere our hearts to the glass. Poster putty would probably also work.
And enjoy your beautiful decoration!
