Outdoor Valentine’s Decor: Wooden Hearts for the Garage
When it comes to outdoor decorations, mid-winter definitely gets the short end of the stick. Halloween brings all the spooky fun, Christmas is a garland-and-lights-filled wonderland, and spring and summer are bursting with flowers. But what about the in-between? By the time mid-January/February rolls around, I’m more than ready for something cute to break up all the gray. If you’re in the same boat, you’re going to love this outdoor Valentine’s decor.
These magnetic wooden hearts always make me smile whenever I see them on our garage door. Keep reading to learn how to create your own!
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Supplies Needed:
- Wooden Hearts
- Pink Spray Paint
- Drop Cloth for Painting
- Extra-Strong Magnets
- Pink LED Tea Lights
- Hot Glue Gun
- Wood Glue
- Square Wooden Dowels
- Miter Saw (Or ask them to cut the wood at your local hardware store)
Outdoor Valentine’s Decor Step #1: Paint the Wooden Hearts
First, gather up your wooden hearts and spread them out on a drop cloth. Spray paint each one, let them dry, then flip them over and paint the back. Be sure you’re also painting the sides, because those will be visible when they’re hanging on the garage.
Step #2: Cut the Wooden Dowels
The square dowels will be attached to the back of each heart to give them some extra dimension on the garage door. But before we do that, we need to cut them down to size. I used my miter saw and trimmed the dowels to be about three inches long each.
Outdoor Valentine’s Decor Step #3: Glue Everything Together
Next, I attached the dowels to the back of each heart with wood glue, putting one dowel at the top of the heart and one on the bottom. After that, I used the same glue to adhere the magnets to the dowels.
Pro tip: Be sure you use extra-strong magnets like these! Regular magnets meant for the refrigerator probably won’t cut it for this project.
Once the wood glue is fully dry, grab a tea light and add hot glue to the bottom. Press it onto the bottom dowel on the back of the heart, holding the light firmly against the dowel for a few seconds to make sure they’re securely attached. Repeat this process for each heart.
Step #4: Hang Up the Hearts
This final step is my favorite because it all comes together! I put a heart on each square of our metal garage door, then stood back to check out my work. Once it was dark, I turned on each of the lights and admired the pretty pink glow they cast.
The question on everyone’s mind…
Do the hearts actually stay on while the garage door is opening and closing?
Yes, they do! At least on our garage door. You may want to do a quick test run with one or two hearts, experimenting with different dowel depths to see how far the hearts can stick out from the garage. If you notice them hitting the top of the door as it opens or closes, try switching to smaller hearts or using shorter dowels.
Do you usually put up outdoor Valentine’s decor?
And if so, are you going to add these cute wooden hearts to the mix? Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you do!
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