Sunday, February 14, 2021

The Making of a Valentine


I belong to a group of artists.  We all have a connection to the now-closed Valley Ridge Art Studio.  We stay in touch and hold art retreats twice a year.  One member recently set up a Valentine’s postcard exchange.  Names were drawn electronically.  My recipient happens to own a cute Westie named Lulu. I decided my Valentine would feature some reference to Lulu.

Thinking outside the box, I decided to use an 8” x 10” canvas for my “postcard”.  I had all of the
supplies on hand to create a valentine (no surprise there, as Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday).

I started with a white canvas, then mixed some acrylic paint and painted the canvas pink.





I then searched online and located a silhouette of a Westie.  I sized it down, literally
using my fingers on my iPad.  I then very lightly traced the outline onto a 
piece of printer paper. I cut out the shape, then outlined it onto heavy paper.
That served as my pattern.  I fused interfacing onto some pretty dark pink fabric,
And cut the shape from that.  From there, I stitched the dog shape onto my background
of antique alencon lace.



The pictures that follow show how I tested different arrangements and trims.





Once I declared the surface finished, I wrapped the excess lace around to the
back.  I used glue on the back (also underneath the dog appliqué and in a few
other, discreet spots).  I glued scrapbook paper to the backside of the canvas.





Here is a photo of my completed valentine.  I titled it “Lulu Love”.  Hope you
like it!






 

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