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Olympic Rings Valentine

February 5, 2014 2 Comments

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft at Hands Occupied

The opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics is Friday, so I’ve got both the Olympics and Valentine’s Day on the brain. Using Apple Barrel Craft Paint, I whipped up this easy Valentine’s Day card with teachers in mind.

I became a Teen Librarian at a public library really close to a high school this year. I know my quasi-class of teens by name and have good days and bad days with them, just like a teacher. When I designed this Valentine, I wanted to make something I think my fellow librarians and teacher friends would appreciate. And as a crafter, I wanted to share something cute and fun too!

Supplies

white cardstock, 12×12 inches
sponge spouncer
scissors
tweezers (optional)
2 inch tall heart stencils, like Plaid’s Plain Jane 2″ letter stencils
Apple Barrel craft paint in Olympic colors*
waxed paper or silicone mat (optional)

*red, black, blue, yellow and green – I used the gloss finish because I knew it would make the card really pop!

Directions

Start your project by cutting a 12×12 inch piece of cardstock in half, and then fold that in half. If you’re using the same stencils as me, the hearts punch right out of the stencil. I think these heart punch outs are intended to be recycled, but I wanted to use them as reverse stencils. After all, they’re for making rings!

Olympic Rings Valentine at Hands Occupied

Squeeze about a teaspoon of paint onto your work surface. I love my silicon mat, but waxed paper or a recycled jar lid work great for this too!

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

Dab your spouncer into the paint and press out some of the excess paint onto the mat/waxed paper as shown. Hold down the heart stencil with one hand and paint all along the edges of your heart, reloading your paint as needed.

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

One of the great things about the Apple Barrel Craft Paint I used is how quickly it dries. Make sure to let your painted heart sit for a second before removing the cardboard stencil. I found using a tweezer to remove the stencil super helpful!

You don’t even need to worry about using more than one paint spouncer on this project by the way. The paint cleans up so easily, switching colors is as simple as rinsing out the first color, squeezing out excess water, and grabbing the next color. And speaking of color, please note that the arrangement of the Olympic rings and their color is important. Each color symbolizes something special.

So one more time, here’s the step-by-step process for painting the rings:

1. Place stencil
Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft 2. Paint around the stencil with your spouncer. 

3. Carefully remove the stencil (using a tweezer if you like). 
Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

4. Place your next stencil and repeat steps 1-3 again. Remember: when you reuse an already-painted stencil, make sure it’s dry before using it for another color. 
Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

Add your message

When the outside of your card is dry, you can take a pen or a thin paint brush and write your Valentine an Olympic-y message in it. I designed this card with educators in mind, but I’ve got a message for you to use for a general sweetheart as well…

Thank you for being my champion. 

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

You’re the champion of my heart.

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft

As a librarian, I can tell you that if one of my kids brought me a Valentine like this, I’d be in the back room bawling for like an hour from joy. It’s a really, truly amazing thing when the kids you work with or their parents take the time to let you know your work matters. It doesn’t happen all that often and means so much!

Olympic Rings Valentine - Easy Valentine's Day Card DIY Craft at Hands Occupied Anybody out there have a tear-worthy story about getting a Valentine from a student, library patron, or kid you mentor? I’d love to hear it! 

Visit the Plaid Crafts blog for more DIY ideas, sign up for their weekly newsletter for tutorials and special deals, and follow Plaid on Pinterest to find some great project inspiration. And if you want even more ideas for Valentine’s crafts in a school setting, you should check out ideas from other bloggers crafting with Apple Barrel paint this week. Very inspiring!

This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, How-to, Olympics, Valentine's Day Tagged With: apple barrel craft paint, apple barrel paint, champion valentine, craft, diy, olympics valentine, paint craft, school, teachers, valentine, valentine for librarians, valentine for teachers, valentine's day

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « DIY Color Blocked Glitter Bangle Bracelet
Next Post: 15 Olympic Crafts (that aren’t just for kids!) »

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Comments

  1. Ann Martin

    February 6, 2014 at 9:36 am

    Clever idea! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 3 Kids Valentine Craft Projects says:
    February 6, 2014 at 10:38 am

    […] With the Opening Ceremonies occurring tomorrow, now is a great time to get kids in the Olympic spirit with the Olympic Rings Valentine from Hands Occupied. […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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