My Beloved

Alright, so I know that everyone says Valentine's Day is for the women.  I get that.  But I still think it's nice to get your man something.  They like to feel loved too, right?

I'll admit, I go through a little cycle when it comes to buying Valentine's and Anniversary gifts.  I know that Michael's likes and interests are things like movies, video games, electronics and gadgets.  However, I don't think a wii remote quite says "I love you" or "You mean the world to me".  So every time one of these "love" holidays come up, I am faced with a decision.  Do I go for the thing he will like or really want, or do I go for the emotional lovey dovey gift?  The answer--I go in cycles.  One time I'll give the gift that says "I love you" and the next time I'll feel guilty and buy the gift he likes.  Repeat.  Although, I must say, I do have a husband that loves and appreciates anything I give him--even the sappy stuff that makes me feel better! :)

Plus, the way I see it, he gets all of his favorite things for Christmas, his birthday, and in his Easter basket.  Why can't there be a little balance there?  All that to say... this year I went for the lovey dovey gift.  Now I know that after seeing it, most of you out there will be thinking 'my husband would hate if I did that for him'.  That's ok.  I get that.  But I happen to have a husband who loves my creative side and appreciates that I put the time into making him something from my heart.  So here's what I did...

 

I bought a 16 x 20 canvas from Jo Ann's.

I chose "manly" colors :) including blue, which is Michael's favorite

First, I painted the entire canvas blue.

I used this handy dandy mini roller.

I had planned to use my friend's cricut to make the letters, but ran into a time problem because of Michael having the weekends off.  Instead, I just bought some stencils and some sticky vinyl and traced them myself.  It didn't really bother me.  I've been tracing letters for my mom's bulletin boards since I was 12.  Plus, I was a teacher myself.  It went pretty quick.

 

Next, I planned everything out on the board and stuck the letters for "beloved" and "mine" to the canvas.

I wanted those words to stick out and be the blue.

And just to keep it real....

If you give me 12 feet of island, I might just use 12 feet of island! :)

 

Ok, so in my defense, I was in a hurry and trying to get it all done during nap time.

The next step was to paint brown over the entire canvas.

Have you ever tried to go shopping with a four year old boy who complains that his legs no longer work?  This is what I was dealing with while trying to buy my supplies.  

Normally I would have tried to go during preschool, but with all the snow we got I was out of options.  All that to say--I bought the wrong kind of brown paint.  I think it was for outside work or something.  Whatever.  It was a little sticky, but it got the job done. :)

Then I used a damp paper towel and wiped it off a little.  I wanted the blue peeking through.

 

Next, I put on all the other words and painted over it with a shimmery taupe color.  

The shimmer makes the actual color hard to see in the pictures.  Sorry!

Then I wiped it off like the last step.

 

After it dried, I pulled off the letters.

I painted the sides plain brown, but you can't really see in the pictures.

Here are a few different views.

  

  

(Sorry, the glare is from the shimmery paint)

Here it is hanging on one of my walls.  It's not it's permanent place, but it will help you get a better idea.

 

 

You like?

EDIT:: He also got Godiva chocolate truffles and chocolate covered oreos!!  It wasn't all arts and crafts! :)