All You Need is Love

I love the Beatles, but more than just the Fab Four, I love Lennon/McCartney lyrics. That’s why the first thing that came to mind when I set out to create a project using the Duetica Lettering Arts software, was All you need is love. This Valentine says that in an odd way. We usually don’t think of brown and beige as Valentine colors, but then again, love is all you need, no matter what color it is.

Duetica makes it easy to get the letters to behave just the way you want. I used one Mandolyn option for the L and set the additional letters (OVE) in Piperl, but with different letter options. I also moved the L closer to the o using the letter spacing button in the software.

This makes the perfect wall hanging because it weighs very little. That wood-look base is really Smoothfoam®. Any weight comes from the hardware.

Note: This is actually a recycled piece of Smoothfoam. I made several clocks for the Craft and Hobby Tradeshow and Convention. One was a fatality in the shipment home, so I used it for the heart shape.

Here’s how I made it:

Supplies

Duetica Lettering Arts Studio (www.duetica.com)

Smoothfoam disc, 8” x 1”, Expandable Polystyrene (EPS)( http://www.smoothfoam.com/product/discs/10625.html)

3D Stamping Paint , Moss Green and Copper (Viva Décor) (www.vivadecor.com)

Copper Pearl Pen (Viva Décor)

Round sponge daubers

Colorbox Cat’s Eye ink, Brown,(Clearsnap)

Chains, Copper and Black, assorted styles (Blue Moon)

Copper wire

Prima Flowers

Beads (Blue Moon)

3/8" circle punch

Black cardstock scraps

Foam Cutter (Marvy)

White Tacky Glue (Aleene’s)

Clock hands

Valentine charms

Dew Drops (Robin's Nest)

Swirl stamp

Black Stazon Ink Pad

Directions

1. Cut heart from Smoothfoam with foam cutter.

TIP: To make the heart symmetrical, fold a sheet of  paper in half and cut both sides at once. Use the resulting piece to trace the lines onto your Smoothfoam.

2. Paint entire heart, front and back, with copper 3D Stamping  Paint. Add Moss Green 3D Stamping  Paint to simulate copper aging. This paint dries very quickly, so there’s very little waiting time. Stamp swirls with Black Stazon.

3. Coat black cardstock with copper and moss green stamping paint. Punch 25-30 circles from the painted cardstock and adhere them around the edge of the heart. 

4.  Set the words using the Duetica Lettering Arts Studio. Love is set using Mandolyn font and All you need is  set with Piper. Love should be approximately 4” wide and All you need is should fit above the last three letters. Print the sentiment on cream cardstock and tear the edges to create a heart shape. Use brown stamp pad to color edges, then lightly pounce copper Stamping Paint over the entire piece, making it lighter in the center. Touch up small letters with fine line black pen if necessary. Adhere to Smoothfoam.

5. Use the Copper Pearl Pen to trace over the letters in Love. Allow to dry.

6. Drape chains in three tiers and secure in place with 1” pieces of wire. Insert the wire into the last link of the three chains, fold to hold in place, then dip in glue and push it into the Smoothfoam. Repeat with the other end, adjusting the lengths to make the chains drape.  Add beads to 2” pieces of wire to dangle from each side of the heart where the chains attach. Cover the insertion points with flowers. Add dew Drops to flower centers.

7. Trim the portion of clock hands  that will be inserted in the foam sides of the heart if necessary. Cut the end of the arrow (not the tip) with scissors to simulate feathers. Use 3D Stamping  Paint to paint the clock hands. Cut a slit in each side, dip the ends of the hands in glue and insert into Smoothfoam.

8. Add additional dangles with valentine charms at the bottom of the heart and chain at the top for hanging.

Right now, this piece is hanging on my front door. In order to use it outdoors, I coated the paper portion and the flowers with Krylon Triple Thick.

It’s almost February 14^th. You can make this for your Valentine in about two hours. Take care of that, then hug your sweetie, just because all you need is love.

Note: I received product from Duetica Lettering Arts Studio, Viva Décor and Smoothfoam.