If you're looking for ideas for Valentine's Day, this story may give you the inspiration you're looking for! When I first discovered the 366 Hearts project, I stayed up half the night with inspiration for all the new ideas I wanted to try. Talented U.K. artist, Hazel McNab, challenged herself to create a new heart every day from Valentine's Day 2012 until Valentine's Day … [Read more...]
Valentine Color Mixing
You can mix a "tint" of any color just by adding white to it. Painting with tints lends itself well to Valentine projects, like this colorful card made from a 12"x18" painting folded in half.1. First, place a "quarter-size" amount of red, yellow and turquoise tempera paint on a paper plate. (I like to use "turquoise" rather than "blue", because it's closer to "cyan", or "true … [Read more...]
Cut Paper Symmetry “Pop-Out” Card
This is a fun card to make for any occasion... just vary the colors you use and the shapes you cut to suit the holiday or theme! The pop-out feature inside (see below) is an added bonus!Front of Card: 9” x 12” construction paper (this will form the “base” of your card)3” x 9” paper in a contrasting colorscissors and glue Fold the 9” x 12” paper in half horizontally, to form … [Read more...]
“Hide-a-Heart” Valentines
This lesson is adapted from Karen Card, my children's middle school Art teacher. You can do this versatile project with any grade level, scaling it up or down as needed. It's fun to give kids a little structure and a lot of freedom to be creative.... then watch as all the great ideas start flowing out!1. Talk about how the elements in a design can be obvious or more subtle. … [Read more...]
“Box Fold” Pop-Up Cards
The variations are endless for creating cards with a fun pop-up feature! You can easily change the “heart” element in this design to make cards for any holiday or special occasion. Try putting several pages together to make your own pop-up book! To Make a Box Fold Pop-Up:Begin with two sheets of 9” x 12” construction paper, one for the inside of your card and one for the … [Read more...]
Valentine Card with Negative Space Resist
Use contact paper and masking tape to create a resist for a beautiful watercolor wash background!Materials:Contact paper, 4 pieces 3" x 4"Masking tape or painter's tape (Lessen the tackiness by sticking the tape onto your clothes first, that way it won't tear your paper when you remove it.)ScissorsWatercolor paper, 9”x 12” (the Strathmore “Kids Paint Pad” is a good low-cost … [Read more...]