Easy Valentine Craft – Watercolor Marker Heart Doilies
Valentines Day, in our family, tends to be something more for the kids than for my husband and I. He and I don't usually do much of anything, but the kids get a kick out of waking up to find little valentines out on the table. My mom used to do this for me when I was a kid and I remember feeling really loved, so it's something I like to do for them too.
I do keep it simple – just a card, or one year I made pompoms with googly eyes that were “love bugs”.
The kids love making valentines though, even if it's a holiday I don't do much with – so I love it when I find a simple way to make them and we were very happy with this spur of the moment Valentines project.
We found a stack of heart doilies in an old file and they just seemed to be begging for some color…
Essentials for this easy Valentine Craft:
Supplies below are linked to Amazon – I'd guess you may be able to find heart doilies at Dollar Tree or similar as well.
- washable markers
- heart doilies
- water
- watercolor paper or a paper towel.
(Yes, these hearts look all faded because I was messing around with Instagram filters…)
We started out without any watercolor paper underneath, but as the amount of liquid increased we decided to put our doilies on top of a piece of the absorbent paper both to catch extra drips and to see what kind of pattern would emerge. The watercolor paper underneath absorbed the paint and made a pretty design.
Making Watercolor Marker Heart Doilies:
This craft requires gentle drawing on the valentine or else you'll rip the doilies – they get more fragile, naturally as they get wet.
- Dip the washable marker into the water and gently draw on the heart.
- If you would like the colors to all blend prettily you can choose to put out only colors that mix nicely – up to you.
- Keep dipping and drawing until you're satisfied with your valentine.
- Allow the colored doilies to dry before removing them from the watercolor paper. (This will keep them from ripping.)
Tip: If your valentine-makers are particularly impatient you can always dry the valentines with a blow dryer to speed along the process.
This is really an easy and quick valentine craft – that's all there is too it.
Once your valentines are dry you can lift them from the paper and notice the pretty pattern they leave beneath. You may want to use the watercolor paper underneath for card making.
What can you do with these hearts?
- Hang your finished valentines on a Valentine bulletin board.
- Use them in your Art Journal for the word Love.
- String them on a Valentines Banner
- Use them as a base for colorful valentine cards.
After making these colorful hearts, I found another similar tutorial for painted doilies from the lovely Artful Parent – Check hers out to see how she strung them up as a bunting.
Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.