Watercolor Valentine Hearts

It occurred to me today, as my daughter was painting hearts, that I should share with you the way we’ve been painting hearts for years. I even dug up an old photo of my other daughter from 6 years ago and she is painting hearts the same way. It’s not anything all that revelatory, but I haven’t seen it around on Pinterest. So… I thought you should know that this is the easiest way to make hearts that have a nice, clean edge. And you can make a bunch quickly, which is good for when you have to make 24 or more for the class.

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Supplies:

~ Large watercolor paper (11 x 15)

~ Watercolors (we use these a ton, but lately have added these cool neon ones to the mix)

~ Brush and glass of water

~ Scissors

Process:

~ Cut out a heart template. I used a scrap piece of paper that I had, but it ended up being the perfect size heart to fit 8 onto a page. The piece of paper I cut from was 4.75 x 5.25, then I just folded it in half longways and cut half a heart, which opens up to a perfect heart. You could also print out the above photo and use it as a template.

~ Draw as many hearts onto your big watercolor paper as you can. It’s best if you arrange them the way I did, it saves the most space.

~ Now, just paint them in! Anything goes, really. My kids like to make patterns and play around with blending the watercolors. But years ago when they were little, the loved making faces out of the hearts. Just encourage them to paint over the line a bit since they will be trimmed.

~ I put out some gold tempera paint to use on top of the watercolor after it dried.

~ When dry, just cut them out and you will have nice, clean edges (this is where painting over the pencil line become important). Such a quick way to make a big stack of colorful hearts!

This photo above is from six years ago. My other daughter is painting this time (she is 16 now!) but it’s the same technique. This was a few years before a started my blog so I wasn’t taking the best photos. But I’m so happy I found this.

We always start making hearts in January so that when Valentine’s Day rolls around, my house is filled with color! I love hanging them on clotheslines, too, with the washi tape clothespins.

Happy heart making!

xo, Bar