30 Word Thursday: Open Up Your Heart

always open up your heart

let in
joy
love
and
beauty

there will also be
sorrow
heartbreak
and
ugliness

but the
joy
love
and
beauty

will make it all
worthwhile

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The premise of 30 Word Thursday is simple... take a photo, write 30 words (no more, no less) and post it each Thursday.  This is a blog hop hosted by Erin Prais-Hintz over on her blog Treasures Found, pop on over there to see her post for this week as well as links to the 30 Words from everyone else.

Versatile Valentine: Abstract Spiral Heart Pendant Tutorial

This simple design for an abstract wire heart pendant frame is so versatile  and fun!  Here's what you need to begin:

From Prima Bead:
16g wire
Flush cutter
Needle-nosed pliers
Round-nosed pliers
Nylon jaw pliers

From your local hardware store:
Two 6" lengths of 3/4" wooden dowels (or 2 large sharpie markers)
Duct tape or packing tape

Step 1:  Cut a 12" length of 16g wire. at approximately 5 1/2", bend wire so that both sides of wire are together.  Make sure the bend is completely together, using your nylon-jaw pliers if you need to squeeze them together.

Step 2:  Using duct tape or packing tape, tape the two dowels together, leaving a small space between the dowels so the wire can get through.  Set the doubled-over wire in between the dowels, bend-end first, making sure the bend fits through the dowels and bend each side of the wire over the dowels (see picture).  This will form the top of the heart.

Step 3:  Starting with the short end of wire, start a spiral using your round-nosed pliers.

Step 4:  Continue to spiral the wire using your nylon-jawed pliers until it fits snugly into the top of the heart.

Step 5:  Approximately 3 1/2" from the bottom of the non-spiraled wire, bend the wire into a "V" shape - this will create the bottom of the heart.  Start a spiral with this end of the wire in the direction of the "V".

Step 6:  Continue to spiral the wire using your nylon-jawed pliers until it fits snugly into the "V".

Voila!  You're finished!  Just add a jump ring to the non-spiraled side of the heart and hang it on your favorite chain or cord!  You can also try adding beads or more wire to the frame, using a heavier gauge wire, hammering the wire for texture, heating the wire for color, or anything else you can think of!

Have fun, and let me know if you try this technique - I'd love to see your designs!

Sweet Heart Painting Tutorial

Wanting to do a sweet project for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day?  Here's one for you to try:

What you will need:

8" x 8" canvas
acrylic paint (I used a mossy green, antique brown, red, white, light pink and light purple)
"Love" definition stamp
decorative background stamp (this is the closest I could find to mine)
Archival Ink stamp pad -black
black Gelatos crayon
pencil
sandpaper
paintbrushes


Step 1:  Paint the whole canvas in the moss green color and allow to dry completely.  Using sandpaper, sand the whole canvas so the texture of the canvas comes through.  Pay particular attention to the center and edges of the canvas.

Step 2:  Using your pencil, draw a heart onto the canvas and fill it in with the red paint.  Allow a bit of the canvas texture to show through the paint, and paint heavier in some places than in others.

Step 3:  Paint over the red paint with the light pink paint, using a very dry brush.  You can achieve this by loading up your brush with the pink paint and then blotting it on a paper towel before you paint over the red paint.  Let some of the red show through and let your brush strokes show.  This adds texture to the overall piece.

Step 4:  Using the light purple paint, use the same dry brush technique to lightly add some highlights to the edges of the heart, leaving the center of the heart pink.  You can also add some white highlights to the center of the heart, following the lines of the heart shape.

Step 5:  Finish the piece by stamping the "Love" definition off-center in the heart, stamping the decorative background stamp in the corners and using the gelato crayon with water around the outline of the heart and on the edges of the painting.  Using your fingers, you can add some of the antique brown paint sparingly around the edges, making sure to blend it into the design.  You can also add a bit of the white paint around the outside of the heart outline to further highlight the design.

Here's another variation of the painting using a different color palette:

Have fun with this project.  Use my directions as a guideline and add your personality to your painting.  If you do try this project, I would love to see it, so leave me a link in the comments!

Have fun!