Easy Mixed Media Valentine Art

 

If you're looking to add a little Valentine art to your home, or want to create something easy to give someone special, this is it!

I love to decorate for every holiday & season. So I change my decor often. And, every year I always want to add something new. This year I made this sweet little artwork that combines canvas, watercolor paper, acrylic paint, & watercolor paint.

I painted a 5" x 5" canvas with Deco Art acrylic paint in the color, Jewel Green.

While the canvas was drying, I cut a piece of watercolor paper to be approximately the same size of the canvas. I dipped a heart shaped cookie cutter in to Artist's Loft watercolor, Alizarin Crimson.

I pressed to cookie cutter onto the watercolor paper.

While the paint was still wet, I saturated my paintbrush with water & filled in the heart. There's no need to dip the brush in the paint. The water will pull the paint into the heart.

I tore about an inch off of the paper around the heart. The rough edge gives it more interest.

So there wasn't such a stark transition between the white watercolor paper & the Jewel Green, I painted a thin, watered down wash of Artist's Loft watercolor, Earth Green. I went a little heavier on the torn edges & kept it very subtle on the rest of the paper.

I used Tacky Glue to adhere the paper to the canvas. 

I didn't add glue all the way to the edges of the paper. I wanted it to appear as though it were attached to the canvas with nail heads. So, I added these nail head type stickers to the corners of the paper.

Having a Galentine's party? This would be a fun project to do with friends. It would also be a great project to do with kids. Fun, easy, & inexpensive!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Spicy Valentine

Am I the only one who lets their spice cabinet get out of control? There are probably only 10 or so spices that I use on a regular basis, yet my spice cabinet was so packed that I couldn't even see what all I had. So, time to clean it out.

Shoved to the back were a lot of expired spices in the metal containers. 

I was going to throw them away, but that's not in my nature. I usually try to figure out a way to upcycle items. Do any of you remember the time that a friend gave me rocks to see what crafty thing I could do with them? You can see the 2 posts I did about my rock projects HERE & HERE.

Well, a couple of years ago, I tried my hand at fake bakes. It was so fun & they turned out so cute. I don't know why I didn't do more (or post about it).

When I was trying to think of something to do with the spice boxes, those fake bakes came to mind. But, Christmas had passed so I thought I'd make them for Valentine's Day.

After emptying the spice boxes & running them through the dishwasher, I cut pieces of styrofoam to fit the boxes so I wouldn't have to fill them completely with the "glue".

I used tacky glue to add heart ribbon to the top edge of the box. I found this cute ribbon at Pop Shelf for only $1. I had never shopped at that store before, but was impressed with their selection of craft supplies.

I also found this XOXO ribbon at POP Shelf for $1. I added it to the bottom edge of the box.

I found a pack of felt hearts at the Dollar Tree. Since it's made of felt, to make the heart more sturdy, I glued a toothpick to the back. This also allows me to stick it into the styrofoam & give it a little height in the box.

I filled the spice box with Snow Tex. This not only hides the styrofoam, but as it dries, it also works as a glue to hold things in place as I fill the box.

I first added a pink bottle brush tree from Amazon.

I added the felt heart & a cute little gnome. The gnome came in a pack of 3 from Hobby Lobby.

I filled in the empty spaces with faux candy.

I'm so glad that I didn't throw the spice boxes away. This was a fun project & turned out so cute!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Valentine Or Anytime Art

 

I have been waiting for the perfect piece of furniture to try out the Waterslide Transfers from Dixie Belle Paint Company. However, since my husband retired a year ago, & I closed my booth where I sold painted furniture, I've been a little lazy when it comes to painting furniture. So, I haven't actually been on an active hunt for that perfect piece. 

I've still been wanting to try the waterslide transfer so I thought it would be perfect for a Valentine project.

I first painted a 5" x 5" canvas with the chalk mineral paint color, Fluff. 

The colorful side of the design, that you will see when transferred, has a clear plastic sheet over it. The back is more like paper & is in shades of gray. Having the design on the back helps you line it up properly for your project. I turned the transfer over & used a pencil to trace the canvas on the paper side, then cut it out.

I then removed the plastic sheet from the colorful side of the transfer & placed it on the canvas with the colorful side down. Once I had it placed correctly on the canvas (this is where the gray side comes in handy), I laid a wet paper towel over it. I rubbed over the paper towel with my fingers to make sure the transfer was laying flat against the canvas. 

After letting it sit for 3 minutes, I removed the paper towel & pulled up the transfer backing, leaving the beautiful baroque design on the canvas.

Now for the Valentine part...

I used Sculpey oven bake clay. I conditioned the clay to make it soft & workable, then flattened it to approximately 1/4 inch thickness.

Once the clay was flattened out, I added texture with a stamp from Redesign With Prima.

I used a cookie cutter to cut out a heart. 

I preheated my oven to 275 degrees, then baked the heart for 15 minutes.

I wanted to stick with the neutral colors of the transfer, so once the heart was cooled I painted it with a brown acrylic paint that matched one of the colors in the design.

I didn't worry about perfect coverage because of the next step.

To highlight the texture in the heart, I rubbed on Silver Gilding Wax. I typically go for gold or copper gilding wax, but in this case I wanted to pull out the silver from the transfer. Copper would have been pretty too & given it a completely different look.

I glued the heart to the center of the canvas using E6000.

This is a pretty, neutral piece of art perfect for Valentine's decor if you don't decorate with the traditional red & pink. And, the neutral colors make it perfect for enjoying all year long.

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Double Duty Christmas Decor

 Have you ever had a clear vision for a project & somewhere along the way it turns into something completely different? Well, this is one of those projects... kind of. It can still be used for it's original purpose, but I'm using it in a different way.

When I saw these trees at Hobby Lobby, I thought I could pop them off of their base & use them as part of a pretty wreath.

To start my wreath, I used a flat wreath form & glued 2" half wooden balls to the form.

I left a space to add the trees.

My original thought was that I could take a hammer to the trees & knock them off of the base they were standing on. However, they were inserted into the wood & I didn't want to break them.

So, I decided to leave them attached to the base.

The trees & base were too heavy to glue onto the wreath form, so I screwed the wreath onto the base to attach it.

The trees came with a little greenery in front of them, but I wanted to add more greenery to cover the wood board that created the base for the trees. I took 2 picks of spruce with pinecones that was similar to what was already on the base, twisted their stems together, added glue along the base, & also added a screw through the stems to make sure it was secure.

To hide the board & stems, I covered them with Snow-Tex using a pallet knife.

I used the pallet knife to add a little "snow" to the greenery & the pinecones.

The final product worked fine as a wreath...

But, because I left the base on the trees, it stands up! So I decided to use it on my buffet. Now I get to see it everyday.

And, who knows, maybe next year I'll hang it on my front door!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado