Vintage Inspired Valentine Altered Art Tutorial

Many people give up on “art” when they’re in middle school. Their projects don’t look “right” in their eyes and they decide they’ll never be a real artist. Personally, I think everyone has a little bit of an artist tucked away inside, they just need help drawing it out.

For several  years, I helped students in a homeschool program find their inner artist and it was SO rewarding. In this article, I’m attempting to achieve that same goal by walking you step-by-step through the process of creating some vintage inspired Valentine altered art.

Note: This post contains affiliate links for [the same or similar] products used to complete this project. This is both for your convenience as well as to support my website, since I receive a small compensation whenever you click on a link and make any sort of purchase, for which I thank you. See my full disclosure here.

Materials:

1. 8″ x 10″ Canvas board
2. Vintage music paper
3. Mod Podge
4. Foam brushes
5. Craft paint (I used blue, white, dark red)
6. Scrapbook paper
7. Scissors
8. Cardstock to make words
9. Optional: Print a heart pattern, romantic words, & project tutorial in Member Library (SUBSCRIBE to get access!)

How to Make the Valentine Altered Art

1. Print the Tutorial, Romantic Words, & Heart Template in the Member Library

In the Member Library, (under Project Tutorials) you’ll find a PDF document you can print out that contains:

• a Project tutorial
• a Page of romantic words & phrases
• a Heart template

Join 10,000 other vintage lovers and creators who have access to this library when you SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter.

2. Cover Your Canvas with Vintage Music Paper

To start this project, cover your canvas with vintage sheet music paper using Mod Podge to adhere it.

You can apply a whole sheet, as you see in this picture, or you can tear it into pieces and glue each piece separately (see below). Glue edges to the back of the canvas by a 1/2″ or so to give the canvas a more finished look.

3. Paint the Music Paper

Using torn pieces of vintage music paper gives the project some added texture and interest. No matter how you apply your music paper, the next step is to paint it.

I like to squirt some acrylic craft paint right on the canvas, then spray some water over the surface and brush the paint over the surface with a foam brush. The water makes the paint translucent. I used cobalt blue, but you can select any color you want.

If you don’t brush too carefully, you’ll get different values, which also adds to the character of your piece.

4. Add White Circles

To create the white circles I dipped the edges of a small paint lid in white craft paint and then “stamped” the circles randomly on my canvas.

You can also use small stencils with various shapes to randomly paint some more embellishments on your canvas.

5. Make the Heart

Cut out a card stock heart to fit your canvas, using the template in the Member Library, if you like.

Cover the heart with strips of scrapbook paper that coordinate with each other and your canvas color; lay them over your card stock heart to fit. For example, pick papers that are in the same color family, like the pinks (above) or the tans (below).

Glue them on one by one with Mod Podge, and don’t worry if they’re too long. Turn the heart over and trim off the excess.

Here’s what a similar heart looked like after gluing and trimming the scrapbook strips.

6. Create Romantic Text

To add some text surrounding your heart, print out words or phrases onto light cardstock.  I went with “je t’aime,” a perfect Valentine sentiment, and printed it out in a few different colors so I would have choices.

NOTE: Alternatively, you can cut out words from a vintage dictionary or other vintage book and glue them around your heart.

7. Assemble the Valentine Altered Art

Glue on your heart & words: Now it’s time to assemble your masterpiece–glue your heart onto the canvas. I tilted mine a little to the left. Next, decide where you want your text to go and glue it on as well.

Paint the edges: I like to paint the edges of the canvas with a color-coordinating, but darker color, in this case deep red.

Coat with Mod Podge: Once everything has dried, you can give the entire project a coat of Mod Podge for protection and a light sheen and you’re done-

Final Thoughts

If you’ve always aspired to be an artist, I hope you’ll give this project (or one like it) a try. I promise it will unlock your inner creative side and bring you lots of joy.

Find 14 Vintage Valentine Projects HERE: