I started a little tradition the first February my boyfriend and I were together where I cut out 14 red paper hearts and every day I would give him a heart with a reason why I love him written on it. For the last few years, we haven’t lived together so it would be a texted photo of the heart in the morning. This year we live together and it has made every day’s unveiling even more special! I have been taping them to the mirror in the bathroom every night so he wakes up and sees the new one first thing. I consider them my annual Love Notes to him. Do you have any traditions for your significant other to show or tell how much you love them?

If you’ve been following the blog for a bit, you’ll remember I had made a wooden HOME sign with the “O” being removable. This allows me to add a seasonal shape to our front entryway for holidays without always creating a whole new sign! I knew I wanted a cartoon character as my base so when I found this picture of cute Snoopy holding a heart, it was meant to be. Overall the hardest thing about doing a character like this is that everyone knows what Snoopy looks like. Getting details right are so important for a well-known character. To make it even harder; after my initial sketch out for the outline and details, the first white paint layer lost all my sketched details and I was now hand painting Snoopy’s eyes, mouth, ears, and toes!

Supplies:

• 5” x 7” wood piece
• Pencil
• Scroll Saw
• CraftSmart Chalk Paint: White, Black, and Pink

Directions:

Begin by sketching out snoopy both outline and his details. Another approach here would be to print off the desired picture with the correct scaling, cut it out and use that to trace the outline.

Carefully cut the character out using the scroll saw. I lightly sanded my sides to make sure I wouldn’t accidentally get a splinter when painting.

Begin to have fun sketching and painting your character until the desired look is achieved.

To attach my wood to the HOME sign, I use a really strong Velcro. This makes it extra easy to interchange the shapes/characters I have made.