Sorority Girl – Handmade Valentine’s Cards – Confetti Hearts

Tags

cards, confetti, Courtney Rose, craft, DIY, Handcrafted, heart, holiday, Holidays, projects, scrapbooking, Sorority, valentine's day

I may have been a bit over ambitious when I agreed to make three different types of cards this Valentine’s Day (Follow these links to look at the hand stamped and scripture focused Valentine’s cards!). Now that V-Week has arrived, I am not finding myself very motivated to complete this final card.

Because of my lack of motivation, I kind of took the shortcut on this Confetti Heart Card. I was inspired to try this card after running across The Creative Place‘s blog post when searching for card ideas. If you want to know the correct, neat or professional way to make this card, I would suggest visiting her site. She does a beautiful job!

For my card, like I said, I took shortcuts and the quality of my project suffered a bit. As a perfectionist I am not satisfied with it, but it did turn out super cute!

I first cut a heart template from another piece of cardstock. Then I traced the heart on the inside of my card. I then very carefully used my scissors to cut the heart out. I would suggest an exacto-knife though, if you have one, because my method involved slightly bending the paper to start my cut. I hole-punched the scrapbook paper that I used for my last two Valentine’s Cards for the confetti. I used some cheap cellophane gift bags for the transparency pouch to put the confetti in. It was with this pouch that I began giving up on life and choosing the easy way out. I would suggest sewing together the edges of the pouch; however, I used a stapler to close the edges. Then I just used a glue stick to secure the pouch to the inside of my card.

Ta-da! A little lackluster, but still heartfelt, Confetti Valentine’s Card!

Happy Crafty Valentine’s Day Week!

~Courtney Rose~

Any suggestions on coming to a middle ground between perfectionism and quickness without losing quality? I’d love to hear them!

Sorority Girl – Handmade Valentine’s Cards – Scripture Focused

Tags

1 John, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:19, 1 John 4:7, Courtney Rose, craft, DIY, Handcrafted, handmade, holiday, Holidays, projects, scrapbooking, scripture, Sorority, valentine's day, Valentine's Day Cards

As promised, here is another idea for Valentine’s Day cards from this Sorority Girl! This one is less of a tutorial and more of an idea starter. The inspiration began when I found an image of a card with red flowers and the following Bible verses printed on them. I really loved the verses they chose, so I wanted to create a version of my own!

I used my mom’s cricut expression to cut some different shapes out of Valentine’s Day themed scrapbook paper.

Then I glued the shapes to the cards and wrote Bible verses on them with sharpie – again – I wish I had calligraphy skills, but alas, I do not.

You wouldn’t have to own a fancy paper cutting machine to draw inspiration from these cards. You could use stencils or free hand these shapes.

Before realizing that I had the opportunity to use the cricut, I was planning on just making plain straight borders out of the scrapbook paper and maybe cutting out a heart or two. These don’t have to be fussy because I feel like the scripture is the focal point and main reason to make these cards.

I love making these cards with a purpose to share them and my love with some of the dearest people in my life. Four of these beauties will be mailed to four equally beautiful ladies who are united under the name VERITAS. I wish I could hand deliver them, but the care I took in preparing these will demonstrate my love too.

Happy Valentine’s Crafting!

~Courtney Rose~

Looking for more ideas? Take a look at my other Valentine’s Day Cards idea! Also, stay posted for a third and final Sorority Girl Valentine’s craft!

How would you tweak this card idea and make it your own? Would you use different material? Are there other verses you would have used? I’d love to know, so share below!

Sorority Girl – Hand Stamped Valentine’s Cards

Tags

Alpha Omicron Pi, AOII, celery, celery stamp, Courtney Rose, craft, DIY, Flower cards, flowers, Grace Elizabeth's, Handcrafted, Handmade Cards, handstamp, holiday, Holidays, projects, Rose, rose cards, Sorority, stamping, valentine's day, Valentine's Day Cards

My favorite part about Valentine’s Day has always been the heartfelt cards received from friends and family. No matter whether they were homemade or store-bought, it was the thought that counted.

It’s been awhile since I’ve made any Valentines myself, so this year I thought I’d make up for lost time! In some new and fun Sorority Girl crafts leading up to February 14th, I will be sharing some nifty Valentine’s Day cards that I’m making to show my love to some very special people.

Today’s Sorority Girl Craft Time with Courtney is all about how to make this little beauty of a rose!

The rose not only holds a special place in my heart because it happens to be my middle name, but also it is the official flower of my sorority – Alpha Omicron Pi. In honor of all my AOII sisters, here is a sweet idea to make hand stamped roses in a very unexpected way!

Who would have thought that a stalk of celery could stamp the shape of a rose? After cleaning and cutting the celery, I brushed on some red acrylic paint and stamped a couple practice images.

Then I brought out the cards and started stamping away! It’s important to keep even pressure on the celery. Sometimes when the image wouldn’t turn out quite right, I was able to use my paintbrush to paint in the bare spots to complete the image.

I used some green to paint the petals and then just wrote my own sayings on the cards in sharpie. I wish I could have used calligraphy or painted the sayings on, but alas I did not have the supplies, patience or skills.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Roses to all of my AOII sisters!

Alpha Love,

~Courtney Rose~

To give credit where credit is due, the original inspiration for this method was found on Maureen Cracknell‘s blog. Check it out!

I’d love to hear what your craft plans are for this holiday about love! Are you making cards, baking goodies or planning a romantic meal?

3D Embroidered Monogram

Tags

3D, Courtney Rose, craft, decorating, DIY, Embroidery, embroidery thread, Family, Grace Elizabeth's, Handcrafted, holiday, Holidays, Home, homemade, homemade gift, monogram, projects, rope, variegated, Wall art

When I was looking for gifts to make for my family this Christmas, I came across this idea to make a monogram on canvas using embroidery thread. I thought the 3D look would be pretty cool, but I never realized how long it would take me to make three of them!

This one is the first I made. Therefore, many mistakes were made because it was kind of an experiment. However, now I have a pretty good idea of how to complete this craft without too many mistakes!

I started with canvas, embroidery thread, tape, white thread, and rope. I first played with the rope to decide what shape my letters should take. Then I taped the rope down to the canvas in the desired shape. After the rope is taped down, I took the white thread and tied down the rope about every couple inches or as needed to keep the shape. Then I started embroidering, keeping my stitches as close together as I could in order to fully cover the rope. After covering a little bit of the rope, I went back to the end or start point to try and cover the frayed edge. Then I kept going around the rope until it was all finished!

Word to the wise – don’t poke unnecessary holes in the canvas because you will still be able to see them when you are all done. That is the biggest lesson that I learned when making the first monogram. Originally, I was using pins instead of tape to hold the rope while I used the white thread to secure the rope, but then I changed the shape of my letter, which uncovered the holes I made with the pins.

I made a “J” and a “P” monogram as well, but my favorite was the “J” for my older sister and her husband because it had a really cute curl at the bottom of the letter. It was also made with this variegated brown thread which is going to look so nice in their home where they have been decorating with a lot of those neutral colors and a western twist to a lot of their decor.

Overall, each monogram probably took me 5 or more hours to complete because the embroidery was slow going. I was using the entire length of embroidery thread each time, so that was a lot of thread to pull through each stitch I made. And with a long length of thread comes the problem of it becoming tangled, which happened quite often. However, I enjoyed making them for my family and can’t wait to see how they display them in their homes.

What has been your latest craft project? Share below! We’d love to hear what you’ve been working on!

~Courtney Rose~

Christmas Crafting

Tags

Christmas, Courtney Rose, craft, DIY, Family, Grace Elizabeth's, Handcrafted, holiday, Holidays, Home, projects

~”Oh the weather outside is frightful but craft time is so delightful!”~

When we are not preparing the holiday meals, us Nelsen’s enjoy some crafting during Christmastime. This year Alex brought some beadwork with her so that we could all make bracelets together.  Initially, we thought we would just be walking away with one bracelet each, but once we got going there was no stopping us! Between the three of us girls, we made a total of 12 bracelets! What are we going to do with them all? Wear them of course! – And maybe give some of them away 🙂 

It was such a great time to come together as sisters and create something together. That quality time is one of my favorite parts of coming home for Christmas. No matter where we are, if we are all together, we are home.

The following is a tutorial of one of the types of bracelets we made. I especially liked this type of bracelet because it was so classy and ended up matching the outfit I was wearing at the time!

Figure 1

Begin with a strand of hemp cord (in this case we used waxed Irish linen cord which worked nicely) that is long enough to fit around your wrist with a little extra room.  Quadruple this amount by folding it over three times and cut. You should have four strands with one loop on one end and two loops on the other. Take the end with two loops and make a knot to create a loop big enough for your button to slide through.Then tape your loop to the table and cut the single loop on the opposite in order to have four loose strands (Figure 1).

Figure 2

Separate your strands into pairs and then tape the ends to the table about pencil width apart, keeping the strands taut. Then take thread (we used nylon thread) and double it and knot it right up next to your cord knot.  Next, start “figure-eighting” with your thread and needle. (Figure 2) To figure-eight, take your needle and start from the outside of the left strands and go under them and up into the middle section. Then go over the right strands and come around and under them, coming up into the middle section. Then go over the left strands and come around and under them, coming up into the middle again. Do this over-under “figure eight” movement several times, sliding the thread up to the knot tightly after completing the figure eight.

Figure 3

Now you are ready to begin adding beads! Your thread should be coming up from the middle at this point. Thread your bead onto the strand (Figure 3).

Figure 4

Then begin your figure eight by going over and around the right strands (or left strands depending upon at what point in the figure eight you placed your bead). (Figure 4)

Figure 5

As you are coming up the middle thread your needle through the bead and pull your thread all the way through. (Figure 5)

Figure 6

Now go over the left strands and around and come under them into the middle (Figure 6). You have now completed the figure eight pattern and are ready to add another bead! (Figure 7).

Figure 7

Continue adding the beads in the figure eight pattern until your bracelet reaches the desired length.  At that point, stop adding beads, but figure eight several times to end your piece.  Knot the thread (we used clear finger nail polish to secure the ends of the thread knots to the bracelet after finishing).

Figure 8

Now take the middle two strands (one from each pair) and slide them through the shank of your button.  Use the remaining two strands to knot the button onto your bracelet. (Figure 8) After knotting it a couple of times, double check that your bracelet fits. Then cut the strands and fray the edges.

Figure 9

And you’re done!  (Figure 9)

Good luck crafting!

~Courtney Rose~

Deck the Halls

Tags

alexandrea nicole, Christ, Christmas, Christmas decoration, christmas decorations, Christmas Tree, Decorations, Grace Elizabeth's, Holidays, lights, Matthew 5:15–16, ornaments

It’s halfway through December, and it’s official…this girl is in the Christmas spirit! This week at school – as most of my classes are working on finishing projects – we listened to a lot of Christmas music. There’s really nothing better to brighten your day! We have all our Christmas decorations up at home – the stockings are hung, star is atop the lighted tree, and wrapped gifts sit under the tree.

Last year I worked really hard at making a lot of our decorations including our stocking and tree skirt. This year it was so nice to get them out of a box! Our tree is adorned with many sentimental ornaments that we each received growing up. I love to sit in the living room and stare at the tree and all the memories that it holds within those ornaments.

Most of all – when I look at our lighted tree, I am reminded of the light that Christ was in the world and the light that I should be.

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

xoxo Alexandrea Nicole

Valentine’s Table Runner

Tags

alexandrea nicole, DIY, Holidays, Sewing, table runners, valentine's day

With all those Christmas decorations taken down, the apartment feels a bit empty. I want to jazz it up a bit for other holidays throughout the year. Here’s my latest project – A reversible table runner.

I chose vintage looking fabrics that I though coordinated well. And to help them stand out I made a scalloped edge (which I made a pattern for myself from graph paper – so proud!) in another coordinating fabric.

I think they are so cute!

Supplies:

• 1/3 yard Valentine’s fabric
• 1/3 yard Cowboy fabric
• 1/2 yard red polka dots fabric
• 1/2 yard red horsehoe fabric

I used the 1/3 yards of fabric as is – no cutting (unless of course they came off the bolt really crooked!) And cut 2 scalloped edge pieces from the 1/2 yard of  each of the coordinating fabrics. I attached the scallops to the 1/3 yards on both ends and then put rights sides together and stitched ’em up leave a 3″ hole to turn right side out. I top stitched around the whole thing.

Now I’ve got 2 new table runners out of one “sew-simple” project!

x0x0

Alexandrea Nicole

Happy New Year

Tags

accessories, Clothing, craft, Crochet, Crocheting, Holidays, Knitting, New Year, Scarf, Scarves, Shopping, Sonya Kay, Yarn, yarn craft

From all of us at Grace Elizabeth’s I would like to say “Happy New Year!”  A new year always gives me the sense that I can start over, start fresh and enjoy looking to the future and all the good things to come.

On a recent trip to the quilting store (an hour away) Alex and I were discussing how we really have dropped the ball on posting to our blog.  Life seems to get busy.  We had a wedding (Alex), we moved into a new permanent home and a temporary home (I would not recommend maintaining two households) and had a collage graduation (Alex).  During the holidays I spent some time reading  some  blogs I enjoy following.  The more I read the more I began to feel a little lazy.  Where do all you young moms get the time to craft, blog, cloth your children with the most darling creations, make delectable meals and desserts and oh yes, sleep.  Ok – you have motivated me.  Projects are swarming in my mind and I am not getting much sleep.  It’s time to take action.  I’ve started a few projects and I hope to start blogging about the finished projects soon.  Until then, I was busy for a couple of weeks making scarves for the ladies at my husbands work place.   It was a last minute thought and I now have had my fill of making scarves for awhile.  I made a total of 9 scarves (I kept a couple for myself).

Happy New Beginnings!

Sonya