{Heart} Creations

The girls had a snow day on Monday, Feb 8th, so I spontaneously decided to take a snow day with them. I haven't had a snow day since I was in high school... I won't say how long ago that was 'cause that makes me feel OLD.

I asked he girls if they wanted to help me with a Valentine project, but to do it, I would have to ruin their Valentine surprise. They quickly agreed... only because they knew they got their Valentines early.

Kippy and I did some looking on-line for some Valentine hair-dos. She chose something that wasn't too hard and I managed to braid a heart into her hair. She was happy with the results and that is all that matters.
In case you have the misconception that my girls cooperate whenever I want to take their pictures, trust me... it isn't true. They are generally AGAINST taking pictures together and tend to do alot of crabbing and fussing, which is why I was not able to do a photo shoot for this past Christmas. Monday was different. I think the snow day set the tone and they were in good moods. They put on their early Valentine Day surprises (a new shirt for Abby and sweatshirt for Kippy, plus heart socks) and let me have some photo fun.

I picnik'ed a collage of some of my favorites along with a little quote "My whole heart for my whole life". Next we moved on to making something out of this.

I created a couple different sizes of the collage via Photoshop Elements to be able to print multiple copies on a 8x10 and 5x7 print. I downloaded to Walgreens and had the prints completed within a couple of hours because my home printer just doesn't have the quality I wanted for this.

I borrowed inspiration from my fabulous girlfriend, Lori, and used some scrap 2x6 that was cut into a square block 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" size. I found some coordinating scrapbook paper and my trusty matte Mod Podge glue.
I did some quick tracing of the sides and back of the block on the back of my scrapbook paper.

I cut out the paper shapes (nothing real precise) and used a very light coat of Mod Podge to adhere to the wooden block, smoothing the bubbles out with a credit card. I then sanded the edges to give it an over all distressed look. {NOTE: Distressing: is the best camouflage for imperfections and I highly recommend it}

Once the paper was glued to all sides and sanded, I added a little distressing ink around the edges and tied on a grosgrain ribbon and a heart embellishment.
The collage picture was sized to exactly 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 and Mod Podged to the front of the block just like the scrapbook paper and walla... done!

I got another block of 6x2 wood to make just one more {heart} creation. This time, I sized the collage photo down to 5"x5" so more of the wood would show. I used some black acrylic paint and painted the entire block of wood.

Then I sanded the edges of the block... love the distressed/imperfect texture... and again the camouflage.
I put Mod Podge on the front of the block to adhere the photo collage and then put another thin coat over the photo. I ended up putting two thin coats over the picture. Don't know why, two coats just felt right.

Then I drilled two holes into the top of the block and stuck some wire that I had twisted around a pliers. I printed out some "daddy" friendly Valentine quotes, glued them on some scrapbook paper and stuck them in the wire twists. "A Daughter my outgrow your lap, but never your heart." & "The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad!"

I had the girls write a little something on the back and bada bing, bada boom... a {heart} creation for their dad is done. Abby wrote, "I knew from the start that you had my heart! A girl's first love is her Dad. I love you! Happy Valentine's Day." Kippy wrote, "I love you Dad. Happy Valentines Day! Daddy, you are the best. I love you with my all my hart." Should look nice on his desk at work, don't you think?