Happy February! The month of flowers, chocolates and hearts! I’m not one to make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, but this year I’ve really been looking forward to making some Valentine’s crafts and decorating our mantel. I think it has to do with the traditionally-cheerful color palette. I’ve had enough of grey, overcast days. I could use some splashes of pinks an lavenders around our home! And I’m starting with this sweet Watercolor Heart Valentine’s Day Canvas Art.

Watercoloring on canvas is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while. I have a small stockpile of canvases (I like to pick up a few when they go on major sales) and decided I should just dive in and try it!

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How to make Watercolor Valentine’s Day Canvas Art:

Materials Needed:

• art canvas
• card stock
• Sakura Koi Water Color Tubes
  • I used Carmine and Purple
• Watercolor brush
• Mod Podge Matte Finish
• DecoArt Americana Decor Metallics Paint
  • I used Sterling Silver
• Jar of water
• Foam spouncer
• Scissors

Tutorial:

1.) Trace or draw a heart onto card stock and cut it out. Using Mod Podge (be sure it’s Matte Finish or you’ll have shiny edges!), and a foam spouncer, lightly adhere the heart to the front of the canvas. Go over the edges to help prevent the paint from bleeding under:

2.) Squeeze out a small amount of paint from each Sakura Water Color Tube onto a palette or plastic plate. I chose Carmine and Purple. You can use the colors as-is or mix them to create new ones. I did both. Wet your watercolor brush and pick up a small amount of paint.

3.) For an ombre effect, start with the darkest color at the top of the canvas and work your way down, lightening and blending in the Carmine pink as you go. Don’t forget to paint the sides of the canvas too.

4.) Allow the paint to dry. Once the canvas is dry, pick up a small amount of paint on your brush and lightly splatter it across the canvas by tapping on your paint brush:

5.) Allow the canvas to dry again before carefully peeling away the heart.

6.) Moment of truth—here’s where I had a minor #craftfail. I was hoping to leave the canvas as-is underneath the heart, but I had fair amount of watercolor bleed through. I decided to fill in the heart with DecoArt Metallics Paint in Sterling Silver. I used a similar technique to what I did on my drippy pineapple clock, loading my brush with paint and letting it rest on the canvas to give it a dimensional, almost marbled effect. Once the heart was filled in, I flipped my paintbrush over and use the other end to add some silver dots around the canvas.

I can’t wait to add this sweet little canvas to my Valentine’s mantel, which I’ll be sharing with you soon!

The blends of pretty pale purples and pinks are just what I needed to counteract the winter weather!

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