Groovy Collage Hearts

These Valentine cards are fun to make but can be a bit time-consuming. The end result, however, is well worth it!

You will need:

1) a few old magazines

2) scissors

3) glue stick

4) white paper

5) Modge Podge

6) your choice of embellishments ( We used wooden craft cutouts that were already painted and decorated, and beads)

How to Make These Groovy Valentines:

1) Go through the old magazines and cut out random squares about 1" or so. Arrange squares into their color groups. (It is good to decide what colors you will be looking for before going through the magazines). We were making three valentines; so we chose a group with greens and yellows, a group with pinks, reds, and purples, and a group with shades of blue.

2) Draw a large heart with a permanent marker on the white paper and begin gluing the squares of one group on the heart. I chose to work my way around the heart; my daughter did a more random placement of her squares.

3) Make sure you glue plenty of squares on so that all white is covered. Generously overlap the edges of the heart with your squares, as shown below. Then turn the paper over and cut out the heart along the permanent marker line.

4) Lay your completed hearts on cardboard or newspaper. Using a foam brush, generously cover the hearts with Modge Podge and allow to dry completely.

5) If you want, you can stop right here and write your Valentines' message on the back of the hearts. These are certainly pretty enough to stand on their own.

6) However, if you want to go a step further, decorate the heart with embellishments of your choice. Some examples are stickers, gems, beads, paper hearts, lace, etc. I found these adorable wood-and-felt cutouts (already painted!) at Michael's for 49 cents each.

Of course, you can use this decoupage technique on lots of things. I picked up a few wood-framed mirrors today that I am going to try it on.

Again, I am putting up a few posts today with last-minute Valentine ideas. Be sure to check all of them!