Inspired valentines

After making all my valentines for Meals on Wheels, sometimes it's hard to decide what I want to create for my own valentines. But this year I knew exactly what I wanted to do:

I was inspired by an artist named Andrea Nelson. Her website and shop is A Dream or a Day Art, and her Instagram account is @andreanelsonart. On Instagram, she shares all kinds of ideas for fun, non-intimidating, and often kid-friendly art projects. This bold heart-themed idea jumped out at me a few weeks ago.

For this project, I used three empty toilet paper tubes cut in half to make six short tubes. Then I bent each short tube into a heart shape. I chose six colors of acrylic paint and put some of each color onto a flat surface (e.g., paper plate, piece of cardboard, etc.). Using one tube for each color, I dipped the heart-shaped end into the paint and then pressed it onto a piece of heavy black card stock sized for a card front. I overlapped the hearts and didn't worry if the paint dripped onto the paper -- I even added some extra paint splatter when I was done with the hearts.

Halfway through I decided to adjust my color pallet. The dark green and magenta were difficult to see against the black, so I switched to light pink and light blue. I used the same paint tubes; since the previous paint left on the tubes was dry, the colors didn't mix.

Once the panels were dry, I adhered each one to a light colored card base, and using foam tape I added a valentine-themed sentiment strip near the bottom of the card. The final touch was three little gems.

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love and friendship. Thanks for stopping by!