Faux Embroidery Art & Rosette Tutorial

I adore the embroidery art I see on Pinterest and making a few of them has been on my to-do list. 

It seems pretty simple... embroidery hoop, scrapbook paper or fabric and you have instant art for a nursery, a little girl's room or a gallery wall.

 I also wanted to make them for staging photos on my blog. 

I recently did a dresser for a little girl and my normal staging was feeling kinda old and I wanted something new.

I'm a ~ I want it right now~ kinda girl so I wanted to find a way to make embroidery art with supplies I already had and the cheapest way possible. If you already have the supplies then this project won't cost you anything.....if you don't, it's still pretty cheap. 

I'm going to try to give you step-by-step photos to show you what to do.....so bear with me (and all the pictures).

  To make the faux hoops I used:

• diaper box
• scrapbook paper (you can also use fabric)
• scissors
• glue stick
• hot glue gun
• ribbon
• paint can for circle templates
• pen or pencil

Cut the diaper box along the folds (including the flaps on the top). After you cut the box you should have four large squares (which comes from the sides) and four small rectangular pieces (from the lid of the box).

To trace my circles I used paint cans. I used a sample size of paint (as pictured) and a quart and gallon can of paint for the larger two hoops.

After you cut the cardboard template lay it on top of you scrapbook paper and trace a circle onto your paper. Make sure to trace on the backside of your paper.....if not you will have this.

You don't want ink showing so make sure to trace on the back of the paper.

 Tip: glue your paper down before you add your ribbon. After you glue your paper flip the cardboard over and trim any overlapping paper. 

 To hide the edges of the circle use your hot glue gun to adhere the ribbon. 

I worked in sections instead of adding the hot glue all at once. Make sure to use a thin strip of hot glue or it will seep out when you press down the ribbon.

Easy, huh??! Now you need to embellish it a little. 

A few years ago I made rosette necklaces and I had some extra rosette's in my craft stash. 

There are ton's of tutorials online on how to make rosette's (that's how I learned how to make them).

I'm going to share a quick 101 on how to make them. They are easy to make and the more you make the better you get at making them. If you need a little more instruction I would suggest googling "rosette tutorials" if you need something more in-depth.

To make a rosette all you need is:

 fabric cut in strips

hot glue gun

extra glue sticks

I don't normally measure my strips of fabric but you can if you want. 

I did measure these to give you an idea of their length. The purple strips are about 9 inches long and the blue is maybe 14 inches. They are 1 to 1.5 inches wide. 

The shorter the strip the small the rose and the longer the strip the fatter the rose.

Tie a small knot at one end and then slowly wrap and twist the fabric around. 

Another thing that makes the size of the rose is how tight and how loose you wrap your fabric. Wrap tight and it will be small, wrap loosely and you will have a bigger rosette.

 I normally add hot glue every time I complete a full wrap. 

Just use a dab of glue because you don't want extra glue coming out and showing on the front of the rosette.

 

When you get to the end just glue and fold the extra fabric to the underside and trim any extra that shows. 

 

 Now you've made your first rosette! Aren't they fun?

I like the frays of fabric that show on the front but if you want a cleaner look you can trim them. 

Cuticle scissors work like a charm. 

Use your hot glue gun to glue the rosette to your embroidery art and you are done. 

A few tips:

Practice makes perfect.

Place your hot glue gun on an extra piece of cardboard to protect your working surface.

Be careful with the hot glue.....it burns and it hurts. 

You will probably get a small burn here or there when you glue your rosette.

Be creative...maybe use some glitter, beads, or other supplies you have.

If you don't have a diaper box use a cereal box or anything else you have on hand.

Use small scissors to cut any glue that shows and any flyaways.
Use command strips or tape to hang your hoops....(depends on their weight).

I had all of these items on hand so I did not spend anything on this project.

If I had my way, I would have loved to pick out cute vintage scrapbook paper or cute embellishments but I grabbed what I had in my stash.

Would you try this faux technique or just stick with the original embroidery hoop art?

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