Category: Parade of Hearts 2024

Jan 08
Major progress…on one side

It’s wild to say that we have an entire side of tiles finished. Believe me when I say that – many times – we wondered if this was going to be possible. Luckily, I have some pretty amazing humans on my side. So, my husband Aaron, mother-in-law Anna, and cousin Kristin all have popped into the “studio” […]

Jan 05
Why did you start on the back?

As heart progress continues, I’ve been loving all of the seemingly random questions that I’ve been getting. Truly, friends – there are no dumb questions. Despite how it may appear now and then, there is rhyme to the rhythm around here. I’m actually doing everything on this project with a lot of intention. Like starting on […]

Jan 01
Creating clay tiles

The first of 430 handmade epoxy clay tiles are officially on the heart! The insanity of this undertaking is officially coming into focus. When I finally sat down to count how many tiles were going on this heart – I freaked a little. Until now, I didn’t have a reason to count them. I’ve made […]

Dec 29
Sketching the pattern

Tackling the quick pattern sketch across both sides of the heart was a simple, but impactful undertaking today. The hardest part of the process so far has been setting up this projector. It was well worth the effort, though, to see the first glimpse at where this thing is heading – life-size! Once the projection was […]

Dec 27
Paint and tile prep in progress

Our family has stayed busy with (heart)work through the holidays! I’m taking advantage of some incredible time out of the office to really soak up this process with our kids. Our 4-year-old son and 2.5-year-old daughter have loved every minute of having the heart on our farm. Mornings are packed with “let’s go check on […]

Dec 18
Local business owners leave their marks on the heart

As I started to dive into the art part of this process, it was important to me to have the words and inspiration of local female business owners incorporated into the heart. The first opportunity to do this was to fill the blank white space. I started by teasing the opportunity on social media. Then, […]

Dec 10
Prepping the color palette for the heart

The ‘Takes Heart’ color palette includes 22 different colors and varied shades to create the effect we’re aiming for. It’s intense. Today, I got to work on the color component of the artwork by picking paint swatches that coordinate with the initial design. Here’s where we’ve landed: View this post on Instagram A post shared […]

Dec 08
Meet Laura, the ‘Takes Heart’ artist

Work on the heart is…progressing. Nothing ever seems to go fast enough at this stage, but we’ve been doing lots of experimenting with materials, planning the execution, and gathering all of the supplies. While we anxiously await the first look at fresh art in progress – let me (re)introduce myself. View this post on Instagram A […]

Nov 30
A logo for ‘Takes Heart’

The ‘Takes Heart’ artwork is visually complex, but the end product needs to include quite a bit of digital work too. I decided to whip up a quick logo that could represent the heart online (and probably on some stickers too!). Say “hello” to this gorgeous gal! View this post on Instagram A post shared […]

Nov 21
Our heart design kicks off

Today, we were honored to snag one of the first blank Parade of Hearts hearts to leave the warehouse. I have my work cut out for me now that we’re assessing the realities of building the design I dreamed up months ago. I’m not quite ready to show it off yet – but let’s just say […]