butterfly valentines

Valentine's Day is almost upon us and it's kind of a tradition around here to create unique valentine cards! I thought it would be fun to create something a little different from a heart shaped card this year.

I started by drawing some black and white butterflies.

Don't want to draw your own?

Grab a free download of the four butterflies that I created HERE

Then I cut the butterflies out.

Next, using watercolors I added color to some of the butterflies and kept other without color.. I like the idea of these valentines cards also staying black and white so kiddos can color them on their own.

Next, I wrapped Tootsie Rolls in colorful tissue paper. Using a dab of hot glue I glued them to the middle of each butterfly.

wire hearts

There are truly hundreds of ways to get creative with wire and recently my mom came up the sweetest way to transform wire into hearts. I love this idea because it is so darn simple and a perfect little project for any time of year!

1. Start with floral wire. We used 24 gauge steel wire. Gather 4 pieces together. The length of the pieces of wire will depend on how big you want. Heart above measured around 11". 

2. Next, twist the wire into one inch sections all the way down. 

3. Open up each of the one inch sections until you have something that resembles a chain.

4. Bend into a heart.

Hang hearts on the wall, on a door knob, glue to a blank card, slip into an envelope, create a garland! The ideas are endless!

I've shared lots of valentine tutorials and projects over the years that have likely gotten lost in my archives! So here are some of my favorite heart themed projects:

1. valentine cards 2. valentine arm warmers 3. homemade marshmallows 4. award ribbon valentines 5. valentine stones 6. healed hearts 7. altered candy box 8. put a heart on it 9. rustic valentines 10. heart branches

moss hearts

This Valentines Day why not go green! Here in Oregon we have tons of moss and I thought it would make the perfect material for some simple and natural valentines!

I started by twisting floral wire into a heart shape.

Next, I used moss and a little greenery collected from our back yard and glued it to the wire.

The result are pretty little green hearts that would could be slipped into a envelope, hung on the wall, turned into a garland or even used as a gift topper!

handmade candy wrappers

Transforming candy into something pretty and creative for Valentines Day is as simple as making handmade wrappers. With just a little paint, paper and your favorite mixed media techniques, candy can be transformed into something special. I thought it would be fun to create colorful candy wrappers full of paint, doodles, drips and messy elements! 

rustic valentines

If you are a regular around here you will know that I love using simple supplies in my projects and I love using anything from nature (especially branches). So I decided to put a fun and rustic twist on traditional valentines!

1. I started by gathering branches and cut them into chunky sections. 2. Next I carved the bark away. 3, 4. Then I used my wood burning tool to burn designs into the wood.

5. I used recycled grocery bags and cut hearts out. 6. I added a a few embellishments with a white paint pen. 7. Last I glued those hearts onto twigs and placed them into the branches. 

heart branches

I didn't realize that taking down the Christmas tree would be a really big deal to a (sentimental) toddler. So I scrambled to figure out something to take its place. A few branches and some colorful paper were all I needed to create something special for Lucy!