Watercolor paints make great valentine cards!  I painted these simple hearts using a masking fluid with washes of watercolor paint applied on top.  Any watercolor paper or mixed media paper works for this technique. I used a heavy card stock...that isn't necessarily used for watercolor...however I knew that I wouldn't be adding too much water so this paper worked.

My new favorite masking fluid!  This little jar was a bit expensive but it works great!  It comes with a nice thin tip and you can control the flow of the masking fluid. I made heart shapes on my white paper and added dots.

Here the masking fluid is dried in blue.  I then added light washes of watercolor intermixing my colors.  Once dry I removed the blue mask with my finger. It comes off like rubber cement. 

The heart is ready to attach to a card to send! What better way to say "you are special to me" than with a hand painted card!

I wasn't quite ready for 2019. But the turning of the new year didn't wait for me...and here it is...ready or not!  I started this doodle in the new year and didn't like it very much. It was pale in color and uninteresting. I decided to keep going and see what would become of it...took some risks...tried this and that. My pale doodle became more interesting and dynamic.  Maybe that's a good way to look at the new year.  Take some risks...try something new..even if I don't know how it will end up it's worth a try to explore and discover something new!