Today is National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day! We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate this day by sharing some projects from the Crew that will hopefully give your heart a smile and some inspiration. We think art is a beautiful way to create, to heal, to inspire, to spread kindness, and to add beauty to this world. Art is also a very personal thing; most of the time what we create comes from our heart, and can help us relay a message or sort through emotions and feelings that we may be having.
Let’s take a look at what inspires our Crew’s hearts!
Linda Israel created this gorgeous red and black love card using some of our Miscellanies Papers and an intricate heart die. Cards are such a wonderful way to inspire not only your own heart through the process of creating, but also the hearts of those you send them to.
Linda says, “When I was told about the National Inspire Your Heart with Art I knew I had to create something. Looking through my papers I found the Black Patchwork on White and knew that I could use that as a background for a greeting card. Inspired by the lace heart die I recently purchased from an online vendor I got creative and cut out an image from Calico Collage to fill the center. The Love was cut on my Cricut out of red card stock I had on hand. This card inspires romance and love to me. I hope that it inspires others to create art that inspires their heart.”
Taking some of your own photos and arranging them in a scrapbook layout or on a canvas can be another way to show off what or who inspires you. Marie Nicole scrapped a few photos from the past year on our Canvas Corp papers and used a little Tattered Angels Marmalade Glimmer Mist to color the flowers to coordinate with the layout.
“I don’t scrapbook often, but when I do it’s because I have some photos that I just love and want to showcase. These photos were taken by my sister this past summer and fall. I pieced together two different Canvas Corp papers and added some sewn details by passing the papers through my sewing machine. I handcrafted the little playing cards and layered them in with the flowers, metal gears, and pearls that I placed here and there. The sentiment, “joy”, sums up my feelings about these photos and was die cut with my Sizzix and then colored using some Brutus Monroe Rouge Chalk ink. I plan on either framing this piece, or adding it to a stretched canvas to hang in my craft room. These people are my inspiration, so there is no better place for this page to hang than where I like to create!” –Marie Nicole
Like Marie mentioned, using photos that you love can make the creative process of scrapbooking flow so much easier! Also taking your photos and converting them into black and white can help them all coordinate and blend together with the papers and colors that you choose.
Marie Nicole also wanted to share this fun gift idea with us. Making a handmade gift can be a way to really show your loved ones how much you care. By putting in a little thought and time, you can inspire someone else’s heart by giving them some art.
Marie whipped up a batch of salt dough, rolled it out, and cut it into a heart shape with a cookie cutter. Then, she squished her son’s hand into the heart to create a handprint keepsake. Salt dough is usually a mixture of salt, flour, and water. A simple search on the internet or Pinterest will bring up many recipes to choose from! After you have sculpted or cut out your salt dough, give it time to air dry, or place it in the oven on a low setting for several hours to speed up the drying process.
After the handprint heart was dry, Marie used some Lobster Glimmer Mist to color the handprint. Such an easy DIY gift or keepsake craft that you can easily do with your young ones!
Next, we have this incredible Explosion Box by Nancy Hawes. If you are not already familiar with explosion boxes, they are cards that you can pop up and they are filled with fun things that “explode” as you unfold it. We love the Valentine’s Day theme that Nancy chose. The hearts and tiny envelope are such a fun addition to this box. Anyone who receives it will surely be inspired! Our online shop is stocked with tons of great options for your Valentines Day Crafting!
Nancy- “I created this fun and whimsical Valentine’s Box using different pattern papers from Canvas Corp- I just love how you can mix and match the patterns. This card is always such a delight to receive with all the fun hearts jumping out at you!”
Along with the explosion box, Nancy also created several easel cards with a love theme. Having interactive cards is a fun and unique way to send love to friends and family.
We also love this fun little papercraft angel Nancy created with a few of our papers. She wanted to show how easy it was to mix and match Canvas Corp’s papers and she did a wonderful job of it! This little angel would be a great addition to anyone’s Valentine decor!
Irma de Jager is sharing a tag that she created using lots of Tattered Angels paints, some Canvas Corp stamps, watercolor paper, and our new 7Gypsies Architextures. Irma explains how she likes to create “happy tags” and leave them in public places so that someone in need of a smile will find them. What a wonderful, encouraging use of art!
“I make #happytags as little pieces of art to be left in public places. I am convinced the #happytag will be found by someone who needs a cheer up on that day, or that someone knows someone who can use a cheer up and appreciate it. #happytagging #happytagmovement #happytagrevolution” -Irma
We just LOVE the idea of Happy Tags! Go ahead and search for the Happy Tag hashtags and even join in on the Happy Tag Revolution! There is nothing better than helping to put a smile on someone else’s face!
Erin Reed created these fun little steampunk heart embellishments with some Tattered Angels High Impact paints and Makin’s Clay. Not only did she include some great close up photos of these little hearts but also a process video in case you are curious about how she made them!
“I decided to make little hearts out of clay, but not make them to Valentine’s day by turning them into steampunk hearts and making them silver instead of red. Now I have a few little hearts to use on projects for Valentines day or in the future as hearts can be used year round! These fun little hearts can now be used as embellishments for cards, scrapbook pages, mini books, on planner clips, and so much more!!!” –Erin
Next up, we have Crew Member Chris Pozzi’s scrapbook layout that she created with our Black and Ivory Love paper. We love how she captured the “Then and Now” with photos from the past and present. This is a perfect way to celebrate a long-lasting relationship through the years!
“Scrapbooking about the ones I love allows me to share memories with my family and friends. I just love hearing the giggles of my kids as they go through the albums! So scrapbooking pictures of me and my love on our wedding day and then on our 25th anniversary was a perfect way to capture that memory!” –Chris
Karen Crossen created this fabulous piece of home decor for National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. Making your own home decor can be a wonderful way to inspire your- or someone else’s- heart by creating something special and unique that you can display in your home.
Karen- “This project is a fun home decor wooden block! Using scraps of wood and paper this is fun piece with one of my all time favorite love quotes! One side of the block has the hearts tumbling out of the heart, while the other side of the block has the love quote, printed on tissue paper and attached to block with matte medium.”
Steph Ackerman also created a tag in celebration of today. The “Don’t Stop Believing” quote on the tag is a perfect way to spread some inspiration to the hearts of others. We love the color scheme and how she combined our papers and Tattered Angels High Impact paints just perfectly!
Steph- “I love creating and tags are tiny pieces of art work that can make a big statement. This rub-on holds true – don’t stop believing in anything.”
Next, we have this sweet card created by Linda Svendsen. She put together this video to show us the process of creating it. Shaker cards are so fun to send out to others, and the sentiment to “Celebrate Right Now” along with that little “love” is definitely an inspiration that will put a smile on anyone’s face.
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