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Breathe Deep, Be Brave

Valentine’s Day Laser Cut Wood Plaque

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Here’s a quick and fun do-it-yourself project for Valentine’s Day using some of those neat laser cut wood products that are flooding craft stores like Michaels these days.

laser_cut_wood_Valentine's_Day_DIY_decor

You Will Need:
Large Laser Cut Wood Plaque
Large Wooden Heart
2 Laser Cut Words (I chose “Love” and “Adore”)
Small Laser Cut Wood Heart (I chose one with a flower and leaf motif)
3 small Wooden Hearts
Red, White, and Pink Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes
Glue Gun
Twine
(I found all of my supplies at Michaels.com. Look for the Artminds brand).

Laser cut wood plaque_DIY_Valentine's Day_crafts

Directions:
1. Start by painting the wood hearts and words. I painted the small laser cut heart and the words white. I painted the 3 small wood hearts red.

2. Next paint the large wood heart. My example has 2 layers. The outer heart is painted white and the inner heart is painted hot pink.

3. Then paint the large laser cut plaque. I chose to paint the middle section white with the outer part blending into pale pink. I then used hot pink paint to casually shade the outer edge of the plaque.

4. Once dry, arrange your wood hearts and words on the large laser cut wood plaque as desired.

5. Use a hot glue gun to glue all the pieces together.

6. Cut and knot twine to the top of the plaque. Your project is ready to hang!

Enjoy your new Valentine’s Day laser cut wood decor! Happy Crafting!

To find more great DIY Valentine’s Day projects and other fun boho craft ideas, click here.

laser_cut_wood_Valentine's_Day_DIY_decor

Create a Valentine’s Day Grapevine & Heart Garland

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After pulling down our Holiday garlands in January, our 2 front doors always look so bare. So this year, I decided to dress up our doorways for two holidays in a row. Check out how to make this super easy Valentine’s Day Grapevine and Heart Garland.

DIY grapevine and heart garland for Valentine's Day

You Will Need:
Grapevine Garland
12 to 15 Glitter or Shiny Red Heart Ornaments
12 to 15 Twist Ties (Black or Brown Blend In Best)
Bucket & Weights
Nails or hooks

I found the grapevine garland and heart ornaments at Michaels.com or you can purchase them at Amazon.com.

Supplies_Glitter hearts and grapevine garland DIY

Step 1: Straighten Out Grapevine

My grapevine garland came in a roll so getting it to straighten out was a challenge.

Here’s the trick: Soak the vine so that it is completely submerged in warm water overnight.

Soak grapevine garland to straighten

*The vine likes to float to the top of the bucket, so use a weight such as an old plate to keep the grapevine submerged.*

Straightening grapevine garland

Once the vine is soaked through, gently start to coax the garland out of it’s spiral. I highly suggest doing this outside or over a large drop cloth. The grapevine is messy and pieces will fall off as you try and straighten it.

Step 2: Hang Garland

Use nails or hooks around the framework of your door to hang the garland. Continue to manipulate the wet garlands into the desired shape once it is hung around your door. You can see they still have some curl to them but I thought it gave the garlands character.

Step3: Add Heart Ornaments

Starting in the middle, I began adding the heart ornaments. I used twist ties to attach the ornaments to the garland. This way, the hearts can be easily adjusted until they look nice from the road. By using twist ties, you can also easily remove the hearts and replace with other holiday themes, such as shamrocks or Easter eggs.

Looking for more DIY crafting ideas? Check out our DIY section of the blog for further inspiration.

DIY grapevine and heart garland for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day Mixed Media

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Sometimes you have to breathe deep, be brave and jump into trying new things. This post is about my very first Valentine’s Day mixed media project.

Valentine's Day mixed media_completed projects

I am just going to say it—I LOVE ART! I have next to no formal art training (one drawing class in college), so I sometimes have to get really brave to express myself through art. Thank goodness for YouTube!

This is the year I’ve decided to begin messing with 2 new forms of art- watercolor painting (I painted the Bravely Bohemian logo!) and mixed media. I am already an avid rubber stamper, so Tim Holtz and Graphic 45 products, in particular, have definitely sparked my interest.

Now I am starting to play with gesso, modeling paste, and canvas, plus collage and painting techniques. It is making my boho spirit VERY happy!

Here are instructions on how to create the Victorian-themed Valentine’s Day mixed media pieces I created:

completed DIY Valentine's Day mixed media hearts

Supplies:

2 White Medium Canvases
Liquitex Clear Gesso and/or Modge Podge
Misc Scrapbook Papers
Victorian Themed Valentine’s Day Printouts
Liquitex Modeling Paste
Paint Brush
Modeling paste tools
Glass Stones
Glue
Red and White Acrylic Paint
Scrapbook Bling or Stick-On Rhinestones

Most of these supplies can be found at Michaels.com or at Amazon.com.

Directions:
1. Coat the canvases with clear Gesso. This allows paints and other mediums to adhere better to the canvas.

2. Cutout and arrange the Victorian themed images and scrapbook papers into a desired collage on each canvas. Use the clear Gesso or Modge Podge to collage your papers into place. Let dry.

3. Next, use the modeling paste and tools to create a 3-dimensional heart in the middle of each canvas. Use additional modeling paste to create a dimensional border on each canvas edge. (My examples have almost a cake icing look to them).

Valentine's Day mixed media_DIY_modeling_paste_heart_over_collage

4. Carefully set the glass stones into the corners of the canvas while the modeling paste is still wet. You may need to put a touch of glue on the back of the glass stones to get them to stick.

5. After the canvases dry, you can apply the paints. I used red, white and pink acrylic paints mixed with Liquitex Clear Gesso. The more gesso you use, the more opacity the paint will have. (Clear gesso gives it a see-through look great for collage). I painted my canvases so that you can still see parts of the collage and scrapbook papers, then painted part of the modeling paste hearts to show off the dimension.

Valentine's Day mixed media project_painted hearts over collage

6. Lastly, add in the stick-on rhinestones. Of note, I had trouble getting some of the rhinestone swirl stickers to stay on the piece, so it might be best to use individual rhinestone stick-ons and arrange them into your own patterns.

Valentine's Day mixed media project_red and pink heart over collage

I hope you are as inspired by creating Valentine’s Day mixed media as I am. For more Valentine’s Day project ideas, click here.

Happy boho crafting!

Valentine's Day mixed media_completed projects