DIY Hand-Painted Valentine Cards

I have some adorable DIY Valentine painting ideas to share with you all. They are quick little sketches and paintings that hopefully will inspire you all to create some hand-painted Valentine cards.

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You will need waterproof pens for the sketching because we will paint over them either with watercolors or thinned acrylic paint. Sharpies are waterproof. I haven’t experienced bleeding with them, but I love this set of waterproof pens. They come in a variety of tip shapes and sizes too!

I am sharing 4 different design ideas to make your own with whatever paints you want to use. You can use watercolor paints if you have some, but if you don’t want to get more supplies, you can also use acrylic paint like watercolor.

It is one of my favorite things to do for this whimsical painted sketch style. All you have to do is water down your acrylic paints!

You can use any of your favorite acrylic paint colors and dilute them down to the opacity you desire. You can see a full tutorial on how I use acrylic paints like watercolors HERE.

If you are thinking… “I can’t draw a stick figure!” I promise you can do this!

When I teach you how to paint, I show you how to break your steps down into simple steps. You can accomplish almost anything if you break it down into steps. And that is how I will teach these simple hand-painted valentine cards.

Donut Valentine Card

This loving donut couple is simple to do. First, draw two large circles with two small interior circles. You don’t want these to be identical or perfect. Not every donut is the same.

Then, for the icing, draw two wavy lines—one just inside the big circle and the other just outside the small circle. 

Now you have donuts! But we aren’t going to leave them like that. Give them little legs with dome feet and arms with small circles for easy hands. 

Make them come to life with a happy face and maybe a few sprinkles!

Some cute sayings for donut themed Valentine Cards:

“Donut know what I would do without you.”

“I’m donuts about you!”

“I like you a hole lot!”

Now it is time to paint them in! You can choose to use watercolor paints or dilute acrylic paint with water. I use the same synthetic round brushes with my acrylic and watercolor paint. 

I like this style of painting because it’s not about perfectionism. The looser you are, the better it will look. It’s ok if white pops through, and you don’t have to paint inside the lines either! 

One of my donuts is frosted in pink and the other in a teal. If the paint color is more opaque than you want, add a little more water. It only takes a tiny bit of paint. 

I love the bright pastels for Valentine’s Day!

Valentine Bouquet in a Mason Jar

This Valentine bouquet is another sketch and watercolor style painting. Start by drawing the mason jar. You can see in the video how quickly I do this. I like the sketch look, and have lots of loose lines all around.

I begin with the jar neck by creating parentheses ( ) no more than halfway up my painting surface. This way, I know I have enough space for my flower arrangement. If you want to add more words than we will add to the mason jar, make sure to leave extra room. 

For the mason jar’s body, make sure your lines curve in a little at the top where it meets the neck and bottom. Draw a slightly rounded bottom line and make another curved line opposite it to finish the jar’s outline.

See more about drawing mason jars HERE.

You can customize the mason jar to say anything you like. Be Mine, Love, XOXO, etc.

After drawing the mason jar, it’s time to add the flowers. I like to start with the greenery first, using long curved lines for the stems to get a basic shape and then add leaves. 

For the flower outlines, start with a dark center. Then, draw squiggly lines around it to form a rosette. The flowers don’t look like much just yet, but once you paint them, it will all come together.

Throw in a few hearts between flowers and some swirly lines. This is a cute way to make this bouquet extra special for your Valentine. 

Painting this bouquet sketch with a watercolor style is pretty quick. I like to start with the greenery again. Then, paint the flowers and hearts. You can make each bloom the same color or mix a few shades for depth. 

This sketch and watercolor style is so whimsical! Making hand-painted Valentine cards with this technique would be so fun to do as a small group or a family activity.

Conversation Hearts Valentine Card

The sketch and watercolor style Conversation Hearts DIY Valentine card idea is super quick and easy.

You can layer any number or even make a heart balloon bouquet similar to the one in my Valentine’s Day Gnome painting.

Sketch each heart with a shadow line down one side. I like to keep these really basic and inspired by the classic candy with things like I❤️U, Hugs, XO, Luv, Kiss, Cutie, Amore, Smile, BFF, and You Rock, to name a few.

Paint in each heart with a bright pastel color. I love these done with my faux watercolor, but they would also be great in acrylic! After the paint is dry, you could go in with a marker to write the sweet messages. 

Acrylic Painted Lovebirds

My final easy DIY Valentine card idea isn’t a sketch style and uses acrylic paints that are not watered down.

For the lovebirds, paint a blended circular background.

I begin with white and yellow paint in the middle, making circular motions. Then, I slowly add a little pink and red tones working with light to dark as you work out. I finish with a dark purple around the edges.

You can use any colors you want and work with them to get the desired blend you like. 

Move quickly, blending before the paint has a chance to dry for a smooth blend.

After you let that dry, paint a tree trunk up the side of your painting surface. Attach a branch to run across the bottom for the lovebirds to perch on and a few small ones above.

Making a tree look organic can be tricky when first learning to paint, but the key is making a ‘V’ shape where the limbs branch out. Check out my Easy Whimsical Tree painting tutorial for a more in-depth explanation. 

For the birds, start with a circle for the head. Then paint parentheses ( ) down to the branch for the body and fill in. Below the branch, I add a pointy tail. Paint a partner for your little birdie, and just like that, you have a simple lovebirds silhouette!

Watch The Full Hand-Painted Valentine Cards Video Turorial

Are you hand-painting Valentine Cards this year? I would love to know which design you try. Maybe you will do them all or make your own! 

Allow yourself time to get creative and relax and have fun. It’s not just about the finished piece; it’s about the act of painting itself. Painting lets you leave the stress of the world behind. Don’t worry about how you compare to others. You are exactly where God wants you to be right now.

These Valentine painting designs would even make cute little canvas paintings to decorate your home or give as gifts. 

Visit my FB painting community and share what you make! We would all love to see what you create.