A Sweet Valentine’s Day DIY with Sprout by HP

I think of myself as a creative person, but not as a crafty person. All those DIY projects on Pinterest? I admire them from afar but never attempt them myself. I'm easily flummoxed by technology—everything from computers to X-Acto knives—and I throw up my hands at the first sign of frustration. But oh how I long to be the sort of gal who transforms her vision into something charming, original, and most important, tangible. Especially around that most expressive of holidays, Valentine's Day!

When the new Sprout by HP arrived on my doorstep, I was more than a little trepidatious. A fully-responsive touch mat, a stylus, and an overhead camera for instant capture of 3-D objects? That's just the sort of stuff that gives me tech terror. Yet the thing is, I can recall crafting without inhibition when I was a kid. No obstacles blocked my imagination; all I needed was a stack of doilies and a pair of scissors, and I'd be in Valentine's Day heaven for hours. I've longed to experience that sense of creative flow as a grown-up. So I took a leap of faith and dove into the Sprout's capabilities. 

As it turns out, I didn't need much faith at all, because the Sprout is the ultimate tool for easily bridging the gap between creative vision and reality. In an hour I went from a having a box of my favorite donuts to printing out a Valentine's Day DIY of my own design. With the overhead projector I captured each donut, and with the Sprout workspace I made a card and patterned envelope liner. It was so fun using my fingers on the touch mat to resize, position, and modify my images. I felt like Tom Cruise in The Minority Report—only with more donuts. I can't wait to see where my imagination takes me now that I have the Sprout's tools in hand!

Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Sprout by HP. I received compensation in exchange for creating this content, but all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The City Sage going!