Thanks for the wonderful cake ideas last week; inspiration enough to keep us going through till Springtime!  This week has been a crazy one at work (I’m back to full-time now), but with Valentine’s day just around the corner I’ve spent a few minutes making these hand-torn, watercolour hearts to use in various ways.  All you need is a heart-shaped cookie-cutter, a sheet of watercolour paper and some basic paints – and about 10 minutes to spare.  No more artistic skills than that, I promise you…
Take a sheet of regular watercolour paper, and place a heart-shaped cookie cutter on it.  Cut very roughly around it and snip at each end of the shape to get you started.  Now press the cutter down hard on a flat surface and tear around it so you have a heart shape.

Loosely mix up some red & white paint and swirl until you have a vibrant, watery pink.  Load a big brush and just wash it all over the shape.  You can add areas of deeper colour for an ombre effect.

Let them dry (you can paint both sides if you’re using them for a garland), and you’ll find they settle into a beautiful array of different shades and tones, with the colour deepening at the torn edges;

…and the only thing left to decide is how to use them!  I’ll be using mine to make a Valentine’s card and matching gift tag, and will also use a white chalk pen to scribble our planned Valentine’s day menu on it (I’m cooking for us at home), to nestle on plates on the table.  These would also look great strung together to make a garland, or simply adorned with a love message and then tucked discreetly in your loved one’s pocket to be discovered later in the day… the possibilities are endless.

Finally, if you enjoyed my post about watercolour stencilling, try using cookie cutters instead of stencils – it works beautifully (and is great fun with kids…)

Have a great weekend, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing..