valentine craft ideas: Beaded Valentine Day Heart

What you need: 1)    38 pieces of 4mm Crystal, Pearl or Beads 2)    Nylon fishing line or any other beading thread. The pictorials are illustrated with spaces between beads for a clearer direction, in the actual beading, there should be no spaces.

Step 1: Cut a piece of line, add 4 crystals at the middle of this thread, cross the other end of the thread through the last added crystal (making a square shape) Now you will realize you are working with two thread, add one crystal to each side of the thread and add one more crossing both thread through this crystal. Tie a knot to tighten but do not cut off the thread.
Step 2: Now leave one thread and work on the other first. Use the right thread, pick up 4 crystals, and loop the thread back through the crystal from step 1 as shown in the picture on the right by the blue line. Continue by adding 2 more crystals and looping back through the crystal on top - as shown in the picture on the right. (remember to pull tight) Repeat this for the left side of the thread too.
Step 3: Loop each end of the thread back through the crystals on the rim of the heart shape and when they meet again in the center, tie a knot, loop the excess threads back through the beaded heart in any way you like - this is to hide the thread - then cut off any excess. Now you should get a heart shape, but you may notice that it might be a bit crumpled, well that's why you need to make another exact heart shape by repeating step 1 and 2.
Step 4: Now to join the two hearts together (how romantic huh) Cut a new piece of thread and start by passing each end of the thread through the same adjoining crystal of the two heart shape. Criss-crossing as you tie the two piece of heart shape together, go all the way around the rim of the heart.  If you want to add a pendant hook, remember to add it at the middle of the heart shown in step 5.
Step 5: Tie off, loop the excess thread back through the heart shape and cut away remaining threads.