Pillows for Children and Nursery Decor: Sarah Jane & Alice Kennedy Fabrics

Since one of my New Year's Resolutions was to create new items for my etsy shop, I decided to go crazy and buy some cute new fabrics.

I can't get enough of the scrumptious prints from Designer Sarah Jane! I stumbled upon her art a few years back and fell in love with it all.

I bought one of her prints for my sewing room wall, where it hangs to inspire me each day.

I was tickled pink when I saw that she had expanded her artwork into darling collections of fabric: Children at Play and Out to Sea, which perfectly captures the whimsy and playful imagination of childhood. One of each please!

Okay, so I couldn't buy everything. But I wanted to.

I still have a few pillow cases to go, but here are the ones that are fresh in the shop!

Pillows are perfect for adding a soft, colorful touch to a child's bedroom, or adding something sweet and special for a baby nursery. They make lovely, personal baby shower gifts as well.

I made a pillow for my sister's baby girl Scarlett, and she absolutely loved it.

It's special because it not only brings auntie's love to her nursery, but it will grow with her and go on her big girl bed when it's time.

And we musn't forget playful little Pirates! Perfect for an adventurous little boy's room.

I bought one other really cute fabric from Sarah Jane's Children at Play collection and will share it when I've finished the last stitches.

Sigh.
Sweet aren't they?
I told you you'd love Sarah Jane's Fabric.

Now on to the owls...

Anyone else crazy for owls? Until recently, they've been a little under-appreciated. But now? Owls are everywhere! And I LOVE this colorfully bright owl fabric from Alice Kennedy. 

It's such a feel-good fabric.  My mom instantly ordered a couple for herself! I don't blame her! I want them too!

Thanks for indulging me and sharing in my excitement for my new products!

I have many more to share, that are just waiting to be sewn. Like I said, I went a little crazy and bought a few several probably more fabric than I should have, but WOW! Don't even get me started with the number of cute fabrics out there. At least I didn't buy ALL of them. Yet. *wink*
♥

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{HUGE SALE} Great gifts for the holidays!

Hi friends! Sorry I kind of disappeared for a month. Every day I wanted to catch up, but you know how that goes...do I fill you in on the last month's happs or just call it good and start from today?! That's why my journal has been empty for hmmm....about 15 years?!

Anywho, lets jump in head first with today.

Enter HOLIDAY SHOPPING 

Yes, it's that time of year again. How'd it get here so fast??

If you're looking for some great deals on holiday gifts, check out my etsy shop. I just put the majority of my inventory on a huge 40% off sale! Woohoo! Baby bibs and burp cloth sets, Ink Blot Bibs, Onesies and T-shirts, Pillows and Pillow cases.

Happy Shopping!

Sending my love and happy thoughts to everyone on the east coast!!

P.S. In case you don't know, Nov. 1st - Dec. 16th 2012 (excludes 11/22-11/26), Target stores nationwide will price match Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BabiesRUs.com, ToysRUs.com and BestBuy.com. You have to check out at customer service and tell them which retailer you are price matching & they will look it up online right there at the counter. You don't need to print anything. PLUS, if you buy something at Target and find a cheaper price from one of these retailers later, you can take in your receipt for a price adjustment. Amazing! Great money saving tip from TheKrazyCouponLady.com.

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Country Baby Pillow

My 2-year-old niece, Pearce, is our family's country baby. My brother and his wife moved to my parent's property in eastern WA, while he finished his master's degree, when Pearce was just about 6 months old.

And by country baby, I mean country baby. 

We're talking fields of sweet grass, gardens of corn,

rustic country house and fresh cut firewood,

jeeps and tractors,

and even barns

The ranch is a special place for our family, and these were special times to have them there.

It was with mixed emotions that they left this lovely country oasis and moved on after school was over. It was during their time at "the ranch" that little Pearce learned to walk, celebrated her 1st birthday, began to talk, and discovered her world.

So when Pearce turned 2, I decided to give her a little reminder of that special place she called home for a time. When I ran across this soft, flannel fabric from the John Deere collection, I knew it had to be her pillow.

Grandpa's tractor, the ranch house, wooden fences, and barns. This fabric seemed to portray the sweetness of country living.

I hope it will remind her of those special days spent at the ranch.
They sure were memorable for us.

*Of course, a little one's pillow case should be removable for easy washing, so I finished this with a zipper. I always use this zippered pillow case tutorial, because it's the best and easiest I've found.

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Valentine Shag Heart Pillow: Taffy Pink and Snow White

Planning to {give your heart away} this Valentine's Day?

Looks like I just did.

Remember this white fleece shag heart pillow I made a while back?

I had a request for one with a pink heart

Just in time for Valentine's Day.

And to my surprise, a couple hours after posting this shaggy heart pillow, it was featured in an article in the examiner.com and in an etsy treasury for Valentine's Day gift ideas. Oh, how sweet it is! xo

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Ruffled Pillow for Christmas

Last year for Christmas, I gave my mom the coolest fringe purse ever. People are still complimenting her on it.

This year, as I contemplated what to give my mom, I realized I may never find another something that topped "The Fringe".

And since she's too important to give just any old thing, I decided to make her something extra special. Something lovely and beautiful like she is. And it had to be perfect. No pressure, right?

She had mentioned a while back that she wanted a 14" x 28" pillow to put on one of the beds. I'd never made a long pillow before, but decided now was the time to try. And you know how they say never serve your guests a meal you've never tried before? Yah, well, I ignored that and blew caution to the wind.

And I've got to say, my rolled hems have never been straighter. There were no stitches to unpick. And no swearing in the closet. I don't know whether it was the bump on the head or a Christmas miracle, but this ruffled pillow turned out just as lovely as I hoped it would. With lots and lots of love sewn in.

The trick to perfectly precise rolled hems? Along with using a hemmer foot, a taut hold on the fabric and a little guidance? Slow and steady wins the race my friends. I'll admit, I'm usually a hare, but for rolled hems? A tortoise I will be. More details to come in a new "using a hemmer foot" post. 

Only a few days left of 2011. 

I think I'm ready for a new year, hope you are too!

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Shag Heart Textured Pillow - with fleece

Either I'm a glutton for punishment, or I just really love shag pillows.

I loved the way my last shag pillow turned out, and even though it took a long time to cut and sew each individual lovely little piece, I decided to make another; this time with a little more heart (haha. Pun fully intended).

I just love this texture...reminds me of a swirly frosted cake...

I decided on a zipper closure like the first one. I really like the way zippered pillow covers fit nice and snug. Here's a shot of the back. Soft white fleece. Just like a pillow should be.

Now the question is, where's the best place for it?

The couch

or the bedroom?

{Get one for your home here}

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Shag Textured Pillow - with fleece

I'm not gonna lie. This snowy white fleece shag pillow took a lot of time to make. I'm not sure whether it's because I had to spread it out over a couple of weeks or it just took that much time to cut each little piece and sew them on individually. Whew! But I love the end result.

Makes you want to touch it, doesn't it?

I never get tired of texture

Every time I catch a glance I want to run my hand over it

I've seen shag pillows made with jersey knit, but I decided on fleece.

1 piece of fleece for the back 

and 1 for the front with bunches and bunches of little 1x3 pieces of fleece, scrunched and sewn in place 

and a zipper to close it up 

(*fab zipper tutorial from Prudent Baby)

Looks like I found a place for it.

I mean how many pillows can a girl have? 

My husband would say we have more than enough. ;)

{also pictured: Sunburst mirror; zippered striped pillow cases}
{Buy one here}

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Easy Zippered Pillows: A pillow recovering story

I am so excited about these zippered pillow cases! I'll admit it, I used to have a major zipper phobia.

But let me tell you - this was SO EASY! And I'm not just saying that. Really. I found the *BEST* zipper pillow tutorial on Prudent Baby.

And the rest, my friends, is history.


Okay, let me start at the beginning.
I have a secret.
This pillow right here? All striped and lovely?

Pillow recover - AFTER

Used to look like this:
  (wa wa waaaaaaa)

Pillow re-cover BEFORE

Yes, it's true. I know. Ahoy Matey and watch your gag reflexes.

And although nautical can be nice, it wasn't exactly the look I was going for.

This blue couch has been kind of difficult to decorate around. And since a nice slipcover is out of our budget, I opted for trying to update it another way. When I ran across this like-new, heavy, soft cotton thrift store fabric for $5.99, I knew just what to use it for.

See how nicely the two go together?

The 2 nautical pillows were 22" x 22", but were a little saggy, if you want to know the truth. So I decided to cut my new pillow cases for 18" x 18" to make sure I had enough fluff.

Now I kid you not - this is where I followed the Zipper Pillow Tutorial to the letter. Trust me, you can't go wrong. I didn't re-post directions, just a few pictures, because why mess with a good thing?! Thank you Prudent Baby!

By using the zipper marking method with a basting stitch, it made putting in a zipper, a cinch!

Tada!

Finished Zipper Pillow Case

Okay, we're not quite done yet.
Time for a little pillow surgery.

Hmmm. So that's what it looked like inside. Like a big fluffy cottony cloud.

It was easy to recover these pillows. I simply turned the case inside out, grabbed the bottom corners and pulled it up and over.

Ah, sweet success.

And a little softer on the eyes. And the stomach.

Interested in a little more crafty goodness? Check out the new sunburst mirror we made for the wall. It completes the room!

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