I know Valentine’s Day
is almost here, but it’s not too late for some pink and red craftiness!
Usually my decorations
for Valentine’s Day consist of putting out old Vday cards as a subtle reminder
to my husband that it is time to get me another Vday card and with it,
chocolate (the real goal). This year I
wanted to make an actual decoration, but I wanted to keep it simple. Behold, cute and simple Valentine art:
I made these by gluing
a rope to a canvas and stitching around it.
(Inspired by a pin I’ve seen floating around on Pinterest that links to
a little more complicated stitch. You
can check that out here.)
For the heart I
decided to be trendy and made it ombre in shades of pink.
Clean, simple, and a nice
way to perk up the mantle.
Want to make your
own? It really is easy to make, but it
is a little time consuming. But don’t
let that stop you! I had myself a mini
Jane Austen movie marathon while making these; Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and
Clueless!
So, let’s get
started! Here’s what you need:
Art
Canvas: For the ‘Be Mine’ I used a 9”x12” canvas and
a 10”x10” for the heart. I got both of
these at Michaels. Just make sure that
the back of the canvas is open enough for you to get your design at the size
you like.
Rope
Cord: I got my rope cord at JoAnns. I used 1 ½ yards of rope total for both
pieces, but buy extra in case you need it.
Embroidery
Floss: For the ‘Be Mine’ sign I used 4 skeins of
floss, for the heart I used four different shades of pink and used less than 1
skein of each color.
Other:
Glue gun; sharp, sturdy embroidery needles; lamp, paper, and pencil.
First step, designing
your sign. Measure the back of the
canvas to determine how big your design can be.
Cut out a piece of
paper the right size to use as a template, and make your design. I wanted the ‘Be Mine’ to be somewhat
cursive. Draw out your design and make
sure you like how it looks and that it fits.
To trace the design to
the front I just taped the paper to the back of the canvas, propped it up
against a lamp, and traced the design in pencil.
Now it’s time to start
cutting the rope. Just match up your
rope to your design and cut the pieces to the sizes you need. I recommend cutting all the pieces first, so
as you are gluing you don’t have to stop to cut.
Once your pieces are
cut, fire up that glue gun and start gluing the rope down. Go one letter at a time and quickly lay the
rope pieces down on the glue.
Repeat the process for
the heart and let the glue dry. Now it’s
time for embroidery!
I used all six strands
of embroidery floss to make sure that the color was full and there were no
white spots showing through. Keep your
stitches close together and close to the rope for a nice tight look.
Here is a close up of
how I worked the cross over on the letter ‘e’.
Just keep stitching
away until you’re done. The ‘Be Mine’
sign took more time to do because of all the curves, but I also got much faster as I went on. The heart was much quicker to
do. Before starting mark off on the
heart where you want the color changes.
And you’re done! Now you just have to find the perfect spot to
put your awesome artwork.
By the way, did you
notice that ugly stain on the heart canvas?
The stain was hidden
under the label of the canvas, so I didn’t know until I opened it up! Grr, I tried to get it off but neither bleach
nor Oxy Clean worked. I debated painting
it white, but I found another solution:
Cue the strategically
placed candle, and all is well.
I really like how
these turned out. If I look at it too
hard, the ‘Be Mine’ sign kind of looks like it says ‘Be Mire’, but I can live
with that. I may have to make some art
like this for every holiday!
This could also be
done on regular embroidery fabric, which would be easier to stitch through than
the canvas. But I like how the canvas
gives it more of an art look, plus it is sturdier for this heavy
embroidery. A light fabric might sag or
pull funny from the weight.
I hope this inspires
you to try out this technique in your own awesome artiness!
Thanks for reading!
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