Show you and your family some love with these arts and crafts projects.
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, and why not show yourself some love in the same way you would a partner or friend? After all, every day can be self-love day!
Setting aside a day, or even a few moments, to show yourself some extra love and compassion is a great way to put yourself first and practice self-care. Creating art improves mood and reduces stress. Completing an art activity can give you a sense of accomplishment and boost your self-esteem. Studies show it is proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Art helps improve your mental health and well-being. It aids in improving fine and gross motor skills, as well as improve and enhance your cognitive abilities.
Creating arts and crafts with others helps you socialize with those who enjoy the same activities. Creative expression provides a safe outlet for emotions that may be difficult to articulate, promoting emotional release and self-awareness. Arts and crafts help with emotional development. By engaging in creative activities, it helps change the focus of attention, diverting our minds from stressors or anxieties. Plus, art enables us to fail safely and handle our emotions at the same time.
Enjoy Valentine’s art activities on your own and with the family this season:
Awesome Affirmations Heart Jar/Box
Write positive affirmations, or attributes you love about yourself on colorful heart-shaped paper and place in your hand-decorated jar/box daily. At the end of the month, read them as a self-love boost and reminder. You are loved and you are awesome!
Self-Love Book/Gratitude Journal
Each day, create a page in your art journal with different prompts that you can write, draw or decorate. This is a great and uplifting gentle reminder to prioritize self-care and self-love each day.
Self-Portrait Poster/Love-Themed Collages
Create a special and fun work of art that is a tribute to yourself and tells a story. You may use various mediums and fun, crafty items for this activity. It can either be a collage on canvas that may include drawing, painting and embellishments, or you can trace your full-body outline onto a poster sheet. Include those positive self-love words of affirmation into your self-portrait, which you can color or paint.
Heart-Shaped Dream Catchers
There are a variety of ways to create a dream catcher. The primary symbol of love and affection is a heart. The main purpose of creating this lovely craft idea is it is designed to symbolize and attract positive energy related to love, compassion and heartfelt dreams. The dream catcher can act as a reminder to focus on the positive aspects of life while filtering out negative energy.
Heart-Shaped, Clay-Painted, Gem, Jeweled Mosaic Bowls
There are many benefits to utilizing clay (and mosaics) as it is calming, meditative and can help reduce stress and anxiety. You will start by sculpting a heart shaped pinch pot out of air-dry clay, which can be painted with acrylic paints while wet. Then you will gently push decorative items into the clay, such as gems/mosaic pieces, in a pattern and design in and all around. It will dry hard in several days and form a lovely keepsake or gift of love.
Diana “MissDee” Shabtai, PsyD, ATR-BC, created Art Therapy OC in Newport Beach in 2012.
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