End of week 2. Things worked out a bit differently.

 This was fun!!

I know, I was supposed to be writing short screenplays, but life happened.  My oldest got sick, work got busier, my sleep kept getting disrupted, and the LAST thing I wanted to do was engage in word-smithing of any sort. 


So, when my husband gave me some much-needed downtime, I spent it making this lovely Valentine's present for him.

Valentine's day is my favorite holiday.  Yes, my favorite of ALL the holidays.  :)  It's about love, hearts, the color red, and CHOCOLATE. What else could a girl want? 



Here's a quick picture of  my Dear Husband receiving his gift.  Yeah, I gave it to him two weeks early.  I can never hold onto a gift. Ever.  I think I've given him almost every Christmas, Birthday, and Anniversary present at least a week early since we've been married. Below those pics is the tutorial for how to make one of these yourself. :)




 Oh, by the way, our two-year old doesn't like to wear clothes.

Cover a piece of scrap wood with a coat of gesso.  This helps everything else adhere better, and gives a place for any run-off paint to go. 

Sketch out a grid for your composition.

 Cut out the papers of your choice to fit in the grid lines. 

Now remember, I'M CHEAP. ;)  These Valentine's papers were bought on clearance at the end of *last year's* Valentine's day.

The sheet music was actually found down inside of our piano when we got it! It's an old 1920's upright, and had plenty of little nooks and crannies where things could hide.

 Once you have adhered the papers, cover everything with a thin coat of gesso, to mute any bright colors and unify the surface.  Wipe off any places where you want the underlying papers to show through.



Yes, that is an old sock. That's what mis-matched socks are for---art supplies. :)

 Mix 1-part acrylic paint with 1-part gel medium, then add about as much water as paint.  This gives a thinner paint that holds the vibrancy of the colors. 

Splatter the paint randomly across the surface, then smear the color around using old wax paper, plastic, or magazine pages.


 I then drew lines with a brown pastel crayon to help my grid stand out.

 I used a big background stamp down one side of the grid, and stamped other areas of the surface, using solvent ink. 

That's when I realized that I'd set my wood on top of some quilt pieces, and the board was rocking back and forth. So, remove any ridiculous things that might be on your work space, lol!

Cover the whole surface with gel medium or Mod Podge. 

 Get some fun-looking, mis-matched buttons.  Let the kids play with them---they'll love you for it.

 I made some home-made art papers, using Shona Cole's technique here.  I used junk mail for my base paper, so these are one-of-a-kind upcycled flowers. :)

If you get a chance, look at her video on the same subject.  You'll understand why everyone in the mixed-media art community loves this woman, because she's doing this tutorial with her 11-month-old son strapped to her back. :) 

 Thread the button onto 26-gauge craft wire, or whatever wire is thin enough to go through the buttons you choose. 

Twist the wire into a "stem." Then, punch a hole through the center of your flowers, and thread the flowers behind the button. 

I don't have a picture of this yet, but once the flowers are in place, twist the stem into a little coil behind the flower, to keep the punches from slipping off.

 Gather them into a bunch.

 Twist all the flowers' heads until they're facing forward, then decide where you want to place the bunch.

I raided my husband's tool closet, and used a staple-nail to hold them into place.

I don't have pictures of the next part, because I did this while the kids were watching TV one day. :)

Take an old tin can---yes, the kind that you have in your pantry, but empty---and decoupage thin vintage papers onto it.  Cover the can with a coat or two of Mod Podge.

Then, CAREFULLY, cut the can in half down both sides, but don't cut yourself!  I used my husband's wire cutters (without his permission--he's gonna get me for that) and then,  when I got to the bottom of the can, I simply bent it back and forth until it broke in two. 


I nailed the can into place, then added more nails on the side, wrapped with wire. 

 Stamp text onto vintage papers, using solvent ink.  Cut out, and ink the sides. Adhere with Mod Podge. 

 Put eyelets in the "growing" text block, and wire-wrap the text to the can. 

 Using the same paint from earlier, paint down the sides of your board.  Stamp with solvent ink.

Take a picture *without* flash, because all that Mod Podge and gel medium reflects flash like crazy. :)

Aaah, that's better. :)