Valentine’s Day is officially a month out, which means pink and red in every super market and 99 cents store as far as the eye can see.  Does it mean much more than that?  For me, it’s an excuse to do fun arts and crafts like these milk painting valentine’s books. Beyond that, I like to believe I show my family love everyday of the year, not just on Valentine’s Day.  Last year we did do this amazing project which I really want to do again.  It definitely made this crazy American made holiday seem way more meaningful.  This year, I had some time to myself so I created these watercolor bleeding hearts.  They are super easy and make pretty wall art.  Plus, painting is so therapeutic.  Here’s how you or your child can give it a try.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Materials – liquid watercolors, watercolor paper, a brush and a pencil

Step 1.  Draw any heart shape you can do or your child can do five times in a row in light pencil.  Have each heart overlap the other just a little bit.  Make five rows of five hearts.  If you don’t feel comfortable drawing hearts freehand, you can use a heart stencil or template and trace it.

Step 2.  Pick a color scheme for your liquid watercolors.  You can do reds, pinks and purples or mix it up and do rainbow colors, whatever you or your child are drawn to.  I kept my colors pretty pungent, so not a lot of water.  Fill in each heart with different color paints.  You don’t have to be super exact.  The pencil marks will create a boundary for the watercolors for the most part, but it’s ok if you go outside the lines.  In fact, go outside the lines! Live it up.  Be free.

The watercolors will gently bleed from one heart to the next and the results are really pretty.  If you use rainbow colors, the colors will start to mix for a really beautiful effect.  I just wasn’t in the mood for rainbows this go around.  My daughter is obsessed though so if you are looking for a great rainbow project click here!

Step 3.  Let it dry and frame.  I got this kind of frame and it looks really great. Just make sure you cut your paper down to size to fit the frame before you start.  I hung it above my girls art table and they really like it.

I like it too because it can be for Valentine’s day but also all year.  This is definitely something young kids ages 5 and up can do.  Four year olds can try too, but you might have better luck drawing the hearts for them and letting them paint them in and watch the bleeding.  My girls are a little too young for this one so it was a mommy project.  Next year!

As I mentioned earlier, these sculpey hearts  are  my all time favorite Valentine’s Day art project.  Definitely check it out.  You can also find a great round up of ideas over at Art Bar.  And here’s a link to my “Love is in the air” pinterest board, where I’ve collected tons of great Valentines ideas.  Love and light everyone and happy valentines.  Meri