Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to let your creativity shine. What could be more touching than a carefully crafted, handmade card?
Strathmore painting cards provide an ideal canvas for experimenting with different mediums and textures. In this series of inspirations, the heart takes center stage, explored through five artistic approaches, each highlighting a different technique.
Hand-painted Valentine’s Day cards full of heart
1. Acrylic & mediums, playing with texture
Acrylic paint combined with mediums lets you create textured, expressive handmade Valentine’s Day cards. On a Strathmore Mixed Media card, start with a thin layer of gesso to prepare the surface. Then layer paint and textures to form raised hearts with a bold, modern look.
Tip: Use a palette knife to accentuate textures and vary surface effects.
Recommended supplies: Acrylic paint, gesso, gel or texture paste, Strathmore Mixed Media cards, brushes, palette knife.
2. Watercolour, soft, romantic hearts
Watercolour allows you to create delicate, poetic handmade Valentine’s Day cards. Its natural transparency highlights gradients, minimalistic shapes, and soft effects, making each card unique.
Tip: Add a few touches of white gouache for luminous, contrasting highlights.
Recommended supplies: Watercolour, gouache, Strathmore watercolour cards, brushes, palette, fine liners.
3. Oil pastels, bold and expressive colours
Oil pastels offer rich colour and freedom of expression. They let you create vibrant hearts with blending and layering effects that are highly expressive on your handmade Valentine’s Day cards.
Tip: Work on slightly textured paper to enhance pigment depth.
Recommended supplies: Oil pastels, Strathmore Mixed Media cards, blending stumps, fine liners.
4. Alcohol markers, precision and modern style
Alcohol markers are perfect for a clean, graphic style. They allow for crisp hearts, repeated patterns, or controlled gradients with a smooth, contemporary finish on your handmade Valentine’s Day cards.
Tip: Layer shades to enrich your gradients.
Recommended supplies: Alcohol markers, Strathmore Mixed Media or Bristol cards, fine liners.
5. Calligraphy, personalise your cards with elegance
Calligraphy adds a refined, personal touch to handmade Valentine’s Day cards. It can be used alone or combined with other mediums to write a love message or highlight a motif.
Tip: Use white or gold ink on a coloured background for an elegant contrast.
Recommended supplies: Calligraphy sets, nibs, inks, brushes, metallic pens.
Let your creativity shine
Making a handmade Valentine’s Day card is more than just sending a message. Each medium brings its own character and transforms your card into a unique gesture. Have fun experimenting with textures, colours, and shapes to create cards that truly touch the heart.