Ombré Painted Heart Valentine Craft

I am not an artist. I have NEVER painted on a canvas before. Ever.

That is until I did this craft!

And this was such a fun ómbre Valentine craft to make! Your tween and teen grandkids will really enjoy doing it.

And I predict that you have some of the supplies already on hand so it won’t cost you very much!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Red, pink, and white acrylic paint
• Small white canvas
• White copy paper
• Sponge
• Scissors

Cut off a piece from the sponge. This will be your paint brush.

Cut a heart out of the copy paper. Rolls pieces of tape and put around the edge of the heart. Make sure the rolls are close together so that the edges of the heart will stick down really good to your canvas,

Turn the heart over so the tape is facing down and press the heart to the canvas,

Cover your work surface so you won’t get paint on it. I used wax paper. Squirt some red paint onto the wax paper.

Get some paint onto your sponge and then dab it up and down onto the canvas. (I wanted a textured look and that’s why I dabbed it instead of brushing on the paint smooth.)

Since my canvas wasn’t very big, I only painted about an inch-and-a-half up from the bottom.

When you are satisfied with how the paint looks and how far up from the bottom you have painted, mix some white paint with the red paint.

Paint an area of this lighter color that is about the same size as the area that you painted red. Hold down the edges of the paper heart as you paint so that the paint doesn’t go underneath it.

Squirt some pink paint on your wax paper. Paint an area about the same size as the red area.

Add some white paint to your pink paint. Mix it with your sponge. Paint to the top of your canvas. (I turned it around so that my hand wouldn’t accidentally get in the wet paint on the canvas.)

Paint along the edges of the canvas (matching the color on the side with the color that is on the front).

Ta da! Your ómbre Valentine heart craft is finished.

Let it dry and then find a spot to display your fine art work. You might want to get an easel from the dollar store so that your grandkids can display their painting on it. Displaying their art work that way will make them feel like a real artist!

This is not a typical Valentine craft that kids are used to doing. So, make sure you do this with your grandkids!

(The gradation in my pictures does not look very smooth. But trust me. They look better in real life.)

P.S. You might want to cut a heart out of contact paper. It might be easier than taping a paper heart on the canvas. I didn’t have any contact paper on hand when I wanted to make this craft so I just used the copy paper and tape. If you use contact paper, let me know how it works out for you!

Have a happy Valentine’s Day!