What am I doing wrong in order to not achieve this effect?

[dmwilliams19]

Hello. I am attempting to make a similar background to the attached photo below. It was found on Pinterest, and that is as far I found for the original artist, besides it being based off a Taylor Swift song. 

My trouble is coming with the effects on the heart. I have used Gaussian Blur as well as Feather, and cannot seem to get the same blurred, soft edges as the source picture. Instead, the entire shape is transformed evenly, and I am unsure how to have it focus on the edge/strokes specifically. 

I've attached the source (Red heart with text) and my current edit (green, no words) for reference. 

I'd appreciate any tips or referral to tutorials, as I am not able to articulate what it is I'm looking for. Thank you! 

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

don't use Feather. This needs Gaussian blur. Did you first group the heart and the background rectangle? If not, try that. Then apply the Gaussian blur.

If that doesn't work, then you might need to edit the path of the heart.