A Handmade Christmas - Pillows | Vintage, Paint and more...

Monday, December 2, 2013

A Handmade Christmas - Pillows

Written by: Cathy Carroll; Vintage, Paint and more...




Not everyone thinks of pillows as their go to
decorating element.
But, pillows can be the one thing that adds that
simple elegant touch of color
that is needed to carry off your decorating theme.


I love pillows.
They are so versatile, add so much texture and color,
and
can be changed out in an instant.
They are one of my favorite go to decorator touches.
So, I couldn't have a Christmas handmade series without including
these versatile elements.

If you have been reading my blog for very long
you know by now that
drop cloths are my go to fabric for most everything I sew.
Where else can you find so much fabric that is so versatile itself,
easy to work with - that can be sewn, painted, glued, or what ever
you are wanting to do for such a small price.
I use the ones from Lowe's - I get a 6'x9' cloth for about $10.
And I can make this thing go a long way.
But, for Christmas I like to add a couple other elements
to the mesh.
Good will sweaters in whites and creams
and
felt.
Perfect winter texture fabrics that add to the natural beauty of the drop cloth
to make beautiful pillows.

The first pillow is actually a pillow cover.
I like to invest in a few really good pillows then make all
sorts of pillow covers to change them out for the seasons.
This one is made from my favorite drop cloth
(what else would I use?)
Then a drew a wreath circle lightly on the top portion.
I then cut out leaves from a piece of white felt.
( I just free handed a leaf pattern)
I cut 55 but you may take more or less
depending on the size of your pillow
and
the size of your leaves.
Now, I sewed mine on by hand because I did it while
watching TV or helping Miss A with her homework.
You can by all means do this on the machine much quicker.
Then I just sewed little "clusters" of red buttons
on to resemble the red berries.
That's it - you have a pretty little pillow cover for Christmas.


This one is also made from drop cloth and is a pillow cover.
I love this size pillow
for my chairs.
I then used a sweater from Good will for the little stockings.
I used a small stocking as a pattern and cut out three stockings from the
bottom edge of my sweater.
Then again I sewed them on by hand in a random style not a straight line.
I left the tops of the stocking open.
I sewed a long piece of twine on the top that I looped
and
made it look like the stockings were hanging from it.
The sweater stockings keep my neutral color theme
and
add lots of texture.
I think these are my favorite pillows.


Next , behind the stocking pillow is a sweater pillow.
I used the top portion of the sweater left from the stocking pillow
to make this one.
I did not make a cover but actually sewed this as an individual pillow.
I made a separate small pillow and inserted it into the
sweater casing and sewed it shut.
I love this little pillow and so do my grand kids.
They call it the "soft" pillow - it is quite soft.
But, it also adds lots of texture.

So, you can see
pillows add an element all their own -
color, texture and softness
without being too obvious.

Think you may be adding a few to your decor this year?
Will you try making your own - a simple project
that takes very little time and is quite
budget friendly
with a big impact.

This is part of the
"A Handmade Christmas Series."

You can find
A Handmade Christmas - Trees here
and
A Handmade Christmas - Wreaths here.


You will not want to miss any of the posts so come back often
and see what we have added.
Also I will be posting the tutorials on some of the
projects you read about in this series.


You can follow me through Bloglovin, Google+, Facebook
and
my Christmas boards on Pinterest
and
where you will find all kinds of inspiration.

Until next time
have a great day and get out there and create
something you love.....




Click here to see the parties I am linking to this week.
Please visit them and see all the great projects and inspiration found there....

32 comments:

  1. These are super cute! I pinned it to my "home" board on Pinterest.

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  2. What cute ideas.

    You are so right about the power of pillows in decorating. I am thinking about making a couple of Christmas pillows for the sofa. I won't be using dropcloth on those, but I am heading to Lowe's today for a new dropcloth to cut up for projects.

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  3. HI Cathy! Just stopping by to tell you how much I love your Christmas pillows. They are so precious and you did an absolutely amazing job! I would love it if you linked them up this week to the Link It or Lump It Link Party! Hope to see you at the party! - Melissa http://twoityourself.blogspot.com/2013/12/link-it-or-lump-it-party-16-plus.html

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  4. I love your pillows. The wreath is beautiful and the one with socks is adorable.
    Have a wonderful week,
    Bev
    @ Eclectic Red Barn

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  5. Your pillows are so pretty! Thanks for sharing at Project Inspire{d} ~ pinned!

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  6. Love these pillows!! I am a huge fan of holly designs, but then I saw the socks too! I don't know which are my favourite!! Love them both, thanks for sharing! Pinning now :)

    Hannah ♫
    Sew Lah Tea Dough

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  7. I am making some plaid pillows this morning....or pillow covers. I love your ideas! Can't wait to see more! Happy holidays!

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  8. PS I looked around your blog and see you've shared so many fun ideas for the holidays! I'm following you now, too....and I see you are at 100 now! congrats!

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  9. These are so cute! They are on my agenda today!

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  10. These are so adorable. Thanks for sharing at Lump It or Link it party!

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  11. Cathy, your pillows are wonderful! I'm a pillow loving girl too but mine all come from the store. No sewing skills here. :)

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  12. I just love all of these! I really love the stocking one. I would have never thought of putting stockings on a pillow. So cute! :) I'm pinning!

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  13. Cathy: the are beautiful! I love both ideas and after this craft fair is over for me, I will make some for my house!!!! We would love it if you would link up to our All Things Christmas Link Party going on right now!

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  14. I love pillows and want to attempt to make some of my own. Your cute stocking pillow would look so great in my living room. Thanks for sharing at TTF!

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  15. This stocking cushion is so lovely (the other one is nice too!) What a lovely idea.

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  16. Your pillows are wonderful! I especially like the one with the stockings. Drop cloths are really versatile, aren't they? Great idea!

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  17. Cathy,
    Luv these pillows and I will feature them at my party on Monday.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  18. Very unique idea the one with the stockings on it.
    Visiting from bloggers Unidas
    www.elmundodepatricia.com

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  19. Very unique idea the one with the stockings on it.
    Visiting from bloggers Unidas
    www.elmundodepatricia.com

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  20. Hi Cathy! I wanted to let you know that you are one of my features at this week's Project Inspire{d} ~ thank you so much for making our party a success! I hope you'll join us again this week.

    Hugs,
    Mary Beth

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  21. I am sharing this on my FB page today!
    Beth @ The First Year Blog

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  22. Thank you for linking to Whimsy Wednesday! Your pillow is just beautiful and I featured it today! You can see it here...
    http://www.ohmy-creative.com/whimsy-wednesday/whimsy-wednesday-link-party-93/

    Hope your holidays are Merry & Bright!
    Susan

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  23. I love your pillow with the stockings! So adorable! Nice to visit your blog.
    Blessings, Diane

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  24. These are wonderful, Cathy! I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday - I appreciate you sharing,
    Kathy

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  25. These are so cute! I am featuring you tomorrow on Made in a Day! Thanks so much for linking up!

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  26. I'm a drop cloth fiend as well! I especially love the sweater pillow. too sweet!
    Kim@reposhture.blogspot.com

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  27. Hi there! I am so happy I found this post! I change out pillows in my home often and I love both of these pillows, especially the stocking one. Great job!

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  28. Cathy your pillows are darling! I especially love the wreath one. Thanks for sharing with SYC. I will be featuring you this week.
    hugs,
    Jann

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