What’s in your heart? At Valentine’s Day, this simple question is both an invitation, and a gift. And there’s a way with this easy Valentine craft to make a watercolor gift for someone you love:
The Invitation: Slow Down and Look Inside
The invitation is to slow down, look inward, and notice what’s in your heart. Be honest with what you feel—it’s ok if it’s not all rainbows and flowers. But even as you’re authentic in recognizing your full range of emotions, please be gentle. See yourself through loving eyes. Check in with your inner emotional landscape the way you would care for and about a beloved friend or partner. What do you see when you look inward? Chances are, there’s a lot there to love
The Gift: Share Your Beautiful Heart
Now, the gift. What do you find in your heart that you want to bring out into the world? I’ll show you how to make a soft watercolor heart where you can inscribe your gift and take it with you into Valentine’s Day—or give it to someone who you want to share it with.
Your gift should be a feeling, either one that you find in abundance in your heart, or one that you are working towards at this moment in your life. It could be gratitude you have for a skill you’re building or a lesson you’re learning. It could be the joy you feel when you spend time with people you love. Anything that comes into your mind—confidence, peace, gratitude, friendship, curiosity, creativity—has its place in your heart.
How to Make Your Valentine Heart
If you don’t have watercolor pencils, you can make your heart out of whatever materials you have on hand. Let the colors reflect your mood, let your creativity guide the size, shape, and vibrancy of your work. There is no right or wrong way to do this—it’s your heart, after all.
This easy craft is a great activity to do together with family members, at a girlfriend’s dinner, within a faith community—or just by yourself, in the quiet of some peaceful space you’ve found to reflect and relax.
If you’re using watercolor pencils, choose 3-6 different colors and trace a heart on a piece of watercolor paper. I’m using postcard-size paper, but you can go as small or as large as feels right to you.
Color in the border of the heart thickly, pressing hard with the pencils.
With a small brush, “activate” the watercolor pencil by wetting the full border of the heart. Now, with a larger brush, wet the area outside the border, touching the water to the activated pencil marks so it starts to seep into an organic, unique pattern.
Work your way back around the heart, easing the wet pigment into the wet area of the card. Let it come to life, swirling, blending, and easing its way around your heart.
Once it’s dry enough to not smudge, take a marker or any tool of your choice to write inside the answer to this simple yet profound question, “What’s in your heart?” Now you’re ready to gift your Valentine—to yourself, to someone in your life, or anywhere you want to share your beautiful heart.
What’s in your heart today?
