The following post is from Alisha of Flourish:
Would you like to make some valentines this year that can be kept forever as keepsakes? I’ve got a fun and easy mixed media valentine keepsakes project for you and your kids to create using miniature canvases.
Mixed Media Valentine Keepsakes
The supplies are minimal (and you probably have many of them already).
You will need:
a package of mini canvases
paints in red, pink, white (and any other colors you’d like)
scrapbooking papers of your choice and/or pages from an old book or hymnal
Mod Podge
paint brushes
scissors
white gel pen
black sharpie pen
First, prepare yourself a workspace by covering your table with brown craft paper or newspapers (or skip this step if you don’t mind a “colorful” table top like mine).
Next, sketch out a few designs to determine how you want to create each valentine. Do you want a solid background color? Or, would you rather decoupage torn book pages on your background? If you need some inspiration, check out the ones I created below:
Valentine #1
For Valentine #1, I used the mini canvas that I had painted a cream background on. Next, I put a small bit of hot pink paint on top of the cream (not pictured), then I used a dry paper towel to “blot” the pink, giving the background a mottled effect.
I then cut a heart shape out of a floral piece of scrapbooking paper and glued it on with Mod Podge. Once it dried, I took my white gel pen to outline the heart and create a scalloped border around the canvas. Finally, I wrote “love you” at the bottom.
Valentine #2
With Valentine #2, I tore small pieces of vintage book pages and glued them on the canvas with Mod Podge (making sure to put a coat on top of the torn paper too). After the Mod Podge dried, I penciled in a whimsical heart, then painted the inside with red paint.
After the paint dried, I added a bit of white paint to reflect light in the heart. Finally, I took a black sharpie and outlined the heart, adding the requisite Valentine’s Day arrow, and wrote “be mine” on the side.
Valentine #3
For Valentine #3, I painted the canvas background hot pink, cut out a heart shape from a vintage sheet music scrapbooking page, and applied it to the canvas with Mod Podge. I purposely placed it off-center so that I could wrap part of the heart around the side of the canvas.
After the Mod Podge dried, I used my white gel pen to create a lacy border around the heart (on the side too). Then, I wrote “loved” at the bottom.
Valentine #4
With Valentine #4, I used a light pink to paint the background. When the pink paint dried, I applied three thin strips of painters tape, then painted over the pink with red. After the red paint dried, I removed the tape to reveal pink and red stripes.
Using my white gel pen, I drew little hearts randomly over the canvas. Then I simply printed out “be my valentine” on regular printer paper, applied it to the canvas with Mod Podge, then whimsically outlined the words with a sharpie once the Mod Podge was dry.
Valentine #5
I decided to add a little more color with Valentine #5, so I painted the upper two-thirds of the canvas blue, and the lower third green. I cut out tiny hearts and glued them on the canvas to create a heart “flower patch.” Using a darker shade of green, I added stems, leaves and some grass. Then outlined it all with my black sharpie.
Finally, I added white dots over the whole canvas for more interest and wrote “be mine” on the side of the canvas.
These mini masterpieces would make lovely gifts to give to friends, grandparents or other family members this Valentine’s Day, and they would be beautiful keepsakes to have for years to come.
Do you and your children create valentines for others each year? If not, this would be a wonderful tradition of crafting and memory-making to begin!
If you and your kids would like to create more beautiful keepsake art pieces, then I invite you to join me for my Valentine’s Day Mixed Media Workshop, beginning Monday, February 2nd. In this 2-week eCourse, we will create 10 different projects using various mediums: acrylics and watercolors, collage art, paper crafting, and more! These art pieces can be used to give away to loved ones or to decorate your home for years to come. Click here for more info.
Alisha Gratehouse is a minister’s wife, the mother of three awesome kids, and a mixed-media artist. Her days are filled with writing, creating, homeschooling, drinking tea, and encouraging others to live abundant and satisfying lives (John 10:10). Alisha blogs at Flourish, and is the author of A Life That Flourishes. You can also connect with her via Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
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