A New Year, A New Quilt!

Even though I have a ton of unfinished projects I wanted to make something for me, just for fun. I started the Bible Quilt by Jan patek and got one block done. Seems to take me long to stitch with my stiff hands and my applique is pathetic, but I am enjoying the process, so imperfections are fine.

I am using older material that my friend sent me, but wondering if it is too thin for a quilt. I wanted it to look time work, so mixing up the blocks and if it seems too bright with the lighter fabrics, I can always tea stain it. The fabric I used on this one is the lightest, more of a yellowed white, but I wanted to lighten it, so you could see the fabrics in the appliqués.

No matter how much I measure and plan, my placements are always off, but that will just add to the naivette of it;) This will be a display piece so I am not too worried about it getting washed a lot, just so it hold together when I do.

I am using mostly homespuns and civil war type prints, so fun picking out colors for each piece. As  you can see, I make my circles by hand, so none are the same or perfectly round.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Years. Blessings to you and your families.

Holiday Happenings!

No sewing this week, I have my piece sitting next to my chair, but by the time they baby goes home, I am too tired to move. Add the fact that Bill is home all day and making messes with the kitchen cabinets, I have been spending more time doing my own cleaning and rearranging.

We had a nice time with the family for Christmas and Nicholas loved opening his present. He even sat with us at the table and gummed a carrot. This week he has his first two teeth in, has started to crawl and loves to hear himself talk.

We are not fancy, most of the food is in the kitchen and it is self serve.

Nicholas loves toys and he does look cute in his Christmas vest. Next week is only one day, but time for grandma to explain that she cannot keep up this pace without wearing out;)

Merry Christmas!

I know for some of you, Christmas is tomorrow and for some you are celebrating other holidays this season and I wish all of you, Blessings this season and in the coming year!

This week I got several surprises and surprises from my friends, which warms my heart. One item was from my friend Sharon. She made me a beautiful cross stitch pillow, she does amazing stitchery, something I lack skills in. She also remembered that I love Celtic music and sent me a Christmas CD to enjoy while I sew.

Another friend, Linda from Sauder's Fabrics sent me two wonderful ornaments. I love handmade ornaments and these are so creative and look wonderful on my tree.

Today I got another package from my friend Cyndi. She knows I love wool and not only did she send me a wonderful pattern, but all the wool and more to use in it. I forgot one piece, it was hiding behind the box, but you can see all the wonderful colors and textures, some I have never seen before and they will be so fun to work with. Of course she added some extra gifts and a beautiful candle, I felt like I won the lottery, lol.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, house cleaning and dinner preparations. We have ham on Christmas eve and Turkey for Christmas day. It is also the first year with our new grandson, so I feel truly blessed with family and the wonderful friends I have met through blogging.

The light of the Christmas star to you,

The warmth of home and hearth to you,

The cheer and good will of friends to you,

The hope of a childlike heart to you,

The joy of a thousand angels to you,

The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

"Irish Blessing"

Friday Finish .... Angel Candle Mat

This week I have been resting and getting ready for the holidays, but I always enjoy having a project to do at night. I saw this pattern in the book, Two-Hour Quilted Christmas Projects by Cheri Saffiote. It is an older book, but you can still get copies at a good price if you watch ebay. It is filled with a lot of wonderful projects and patterns that you can use as is, or remake into new ideas.

The pattern was more of a picture, not sure if it was an actual pattern, but I thought it would make a wonderful candle mat. The original has the vines done differently but I wanted the smaller type to fit a candle mat.

On this one, I used an outside light source, so it picked up the walnut stain.The actual piece is more blended with darker spots, which are showing up more.

Primitive Blessings Pillow!

When I was going through my paper patterns, I found this one and decided it would make a nice pillow. I scanned it in, but have no idea from where. It might have been from an old issue of Create and Decorate. If it looks familiar to you, please let me know so I can give the designer credit.

I kept it simple and I think it looks nice on my new mail desk. It is fun to just make things for fun and no stress to finish them. This week I am also working on a candle mat and I will be cutting out the appliques for Jan Patek's bible quilt. The pattern was a gift from a friend for my last birthday and I thought it was time I made it. A nice project to work on during the holidays and the cold winter days.

I gave it a heavy stain, but the flash washed it out. We had snow all day, so no outdoor photos.

I can't put up breakable decorations, my kitties are way too obnoxious. I put up 3 small trees and greenery with a sled on a cabinet. As you can see, nothing is safe and this is Moki looking innocent after he tried to chew off the pine from the boughs.

Friday Finishes From Freebies!

I haven't had a lot of time to sew lately, I forgot how much time babies take up, but it is all good.
Today he actually grabbed my hands and pulled me close, puckered up and kissed me, two times, so cute.

I wanted to make a stitchery tree for someone who can't have a real one, so I made up this little pillow to hang on the door knob, or a bed post. I found it one the web and it was a mini version, so I blew it up a bit and retraced the design with black pen, so I could trace it onto the muslin. I don't have a link, but I have the design if you want a copy, I will be happy to send it to you, just email me. I cannot reply to a no reply blogger, so if you want a copy, make sure you email me direct, so I can send it to you, once I send I throw out your mail, I do not share emails.

I really like how the design looks in person, but as usual, the flash washes out the walnut stain and doesn't do the prim look, justice. I added the two side stars, they are fun to make and easy to do without a pattern.

Another design I made was this little sheep piece. It was a freebie by Lisa Bongean for last years blog hop. I just realized after looking at the photo of her finished piece that I forgot the stars around the sheep, oh well. I made this one up for fun, a nice little ornie to add to the tree since I am just using cat proof ornies.

We are getting ready for the storm tomorrow, hopefully it will hold off to night time. Tonight we have clouds and it is the peak night for the meteor storm, so that is disappointing. I was able to see six, last night though. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and please stay safe.

Primitive Stitchery Tree and Giveaway Prize!

I wasn't too pleased with how my tree came out so I tried a new version and I like this one, much better.
This time I reduced the saying and stitched it onto a piece of tea stained muslin, then I sewed that onto a  green homespun ticking. I still could not find good stars at the store and remembered I had some rusty tin stars. I attached it with a glue gun, and I think it was the perfect touch for the tree.

You are welcome to use the design in the previous post and make this version, as well.

Last week I was one of the lucky winners of Ginger's giveaway. Ginger of Primitives by the Light of the Moon picked my name and I got the punch needle kit. It has the design and backing, plus all of the wool thread to make the dancing rabbits. The wool threads are gorgeous, Ginger does a beautiful job on her hand dyed threads, really nice variations and shades. This will be so fun to do over the holidays for a fun project that I can use in the spring. I think I will make mine into a little pillow.

Winner and Friday Freebie!

Someone mentioned that it looked like I was giving Nicholas away, lol. No, no way am I giving him up, he is my little sweet heart. He is over tonight so his parents can have a fun night at my Son's Christmas party for work. He got his flu shot today so he is spiking fevers and sleeping peacefully now.
Of course I check on him every 5 minutes to make sure he is breathing and not getting too hot;)

Now for the winner.... #3..... Sandie is the winner! Sandie, please email me with your choice of epattern or booklet and congratulations.

I wanted to make a little something to share with all of you and I just love this saying. I made it on a Christmas tree shape so I can sit it on a shelf or basket. Since Nicholas is sleeping, I cannot use my scanner without waking him up, so please forgive the sloppy graphic, but it will print out well enough to use as a guideline.

This is how mine came out. I rushed it to get it done, and my sewing is a bit off, but it gives me an idea of how it looks and ideas for new ones. I used green weavers cloth for mine. You can use muslin as well or you can use wool or darker fabrics and wash away embroidery papers. I did one snowflake and then decided I like the simpler ones, that is why one is different;) I also need to add a star, hopefully I can find some tomorrow, while I am out.

This is the template I used. I drew my lines on the fabric with a ruler, then rounded off the corners. After I traced the design onto the fabric, I put a thick piece of batting behind it for the stitching. I also added a thick piece for the backing to give it support and added more stuffing after I turned it inside out.  I left an opening on the base of the trunk and stitched that by hand when I was done stuffing it. I added watered down walnut ink to age it. You can also add mini buttons, or bird buttons, as well. Have fun and I hope you enjoy my pattern.  Baby is awake, so time for grandma to go, if I forgot anything, please fell free to email me.

After I finished the saying, I cut out the shape by using a ruler and cutting 1/2" from the line. That is why I had more room for my snowflakes, so you can add them where you want.

Monday with Nicholas Giveaway!

Today was a full day with Nicholas and I spent the weekend finishing my mug rug, so no new projects.  I decided to keep it simple and just added an outline stitch around the tree. In person it is more prim since I used older homespuns and too much detail would distract from the raggedy look, so thank you for helping me decide.

I have been decorating for Christmas a bit haphazardly, but it will do, lol. I wanted to put a tree up, but for some reason Bill threw out our trees. No idea why and wonder what else I will find missing;)

Today Nick was awake more often and a bit fussy, but a few shorter naps gave me time to relax for awhile. I needed to get dinner ready, leftover turkey and gravy makes a great pot pie. While I got that ready he sat in his chair and actually kept himself entertained today. He also hit another milestone, he found out he has fingers and spent most of the day moving them and touching them together. It won't be long before he can manipulate things better.

Of course he is teething and there is nothing better than a cold carrot and as you can see, he can be tough with anything he gums. I found that out when he tried using my knuckles, really, really hurts, lol.

When he got bored with that, we moved onto his stacking cups. Half end up on the floor, some he chews and some he plays with. Here is must be deciding which color would taste better.

When he got bored with those, we had a snack, bananas. He loves making a mess with them, and when he was finished I got out the washcloth and he grabbed it. He prefers to wash his own face and lick his fingers clean.

Now for the giveaway, give me a caption for this photo. The winner will get a free epattern or booklet from my ecrater store. I will draw a name from all of the entries on Friday, December 6th and announce the winner, that night.

Giveaway Winner and Suggestions Please!

First I will get right to the winner of the birthday giveaway. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and Birthday wishes. My birthday was on November 21'st and I had the baby all day, so I celebrated on Thanksgiving instead. I made stuffing, then let my husband cook and my daughter vacuumed and I sat in my sewing room and caught up on some projects.

I wish everyone could be winners and I wanted to do a freebie, but it seems time slips by lately and I have one week to get all the gifts ready and cards out, ugh.

I used the random generator and the lucky winner is #11, Jennifer768. Congratulations Jennifer, please send me your address so I can get your package ready to ship out this week. I will add some patterns and goodies to surprise you;)

I do have a lot of stash and plan on doing some cleaning so look for more giveaways in the coming year and I will do them by types of crafts so there will be something for everyone.

I have been working on a project for a swap and finally got it all together. It takes me a long time to think about what I want to do and then pick out the perfect fabrics and then change my mind and add new things, lol. I saw a photo and she had a raggedy doll, so hoping she likes this. My question is, should I just leave it alone or add more to the tree and pocket. This is a mug rug, a bit larger than I planned, so I guess it is a mat now. It looks more prim in person, I had to do a quick flash photo and the    wings are a speckled white. That I think needs some walnut to prim it up and maybe her stockings. I thought of adding bells on the tree, but it is to be used for tea and not sure if bumpy things are a good idea, lol. The pocket is for the silverware.

What do you think, is it ok as is? I still have to sew the binding to the back though. Not sure if you can see, but I did the applique in a black prim stitch. I forgot to outline stitch the tree, knew something was off;) Any suggestions are appreciated, my brain is getting off antibiotics, so I tend to be a bit daft.

The angle is a design by Cheri Saffiote, from one of her old books and the rest I just made up as I went along.

Christmas Tea Towel!

Last month I won a wonderful book from SewGalGirl. I was so happy to win since it has wonderful Christmas designs and I was able to use one is a quick way by making a tea towel.

The book I won is called Simple Christmas by Gail Pan Designs. There are designs for wall hangings, table toppers, a gift bag along with others. Enough to keep you busy with projects for yourself and gifts for next year.

Since I am short on time, I wanted to make something quick and this cute elf was perfect for a tea towel. The actual design is on a table topper, something I will make this year, for next Christmas. I modified it a bit to add more greenery, going across, and if you can see, he has a tiny, rustic, jingle bell on his hat. I also use wool for the star and added the word joy. I love patterns that I can make as is, or add my own little touches.

This is an outdoor photo, so the colors are true, but seems a bit light to me, much better in person.
I think it would be fun to do the basket in wool too. I might try the gift bag next, that would be fun to make and great to use for a present package.

Don't forget, the giveaway ends on Friday at midnight, so you still have a chance to enter. Make sure you visit This Posting and leave a comment to be entered.

And for all of you baby lovers. We got Nicholas a high chair on wheels so I can bring him into any room and he can sit and play while I do things. It is also nice to have since I started him on his first food, applesauce. He loves applesauce.

Happy Birthday Christmas Giveaway!

I went through my box of goodies and here is the prize package that I picked out. I hope that you like it.
I wanted to keep the theme similar with the pillow and candle mat and you will also receive two balsam filled, mini pillows.

As an added bonus, I am letting you decide what you want me to add. I have lots of patterns that I no longer use. So, let me know as your entry, what type of item or item you would love to win. Quilting? Piecing or appliqué? Wool appliqué? Punch needle, rug hooking, cross stitch or embroidery? Or something I haven't mentioned, just give me a second choice in case it is an item I don't have.

The giveaway ends at 12 am, Friday the 29th. I will announce the winner on Saturday, so I can get your package out monday morning. I am sorry, but this has to be for US followers only. "To be entered, you must state what crafts you like to do, or you cannot be entered, this is my indication that you are entering the contest." 

This is for followers only, please do not follow just to enter the contest, but if you have found my blog and like what you see, you are welcome to be a new follower. I am hoping to have more quilting done in the new year and time to work on new designs and freebies. Hopefully I will have a few free christmas doodles in the coming weeks.

Yes, it was my birthday, it is over now, lol. I was fighting off the flu with the new meds and today I felt better and was able to catch up around the house. Baby Nick was here all day but my daughter helped when he was awake and I think he was sick too, since he slept the rest of the time.

Monday Finishes and Winner Announced!

First I want to send my prayers and blessings to all those who were in the storm's path.

I finished my pillows today, I was running around all weekend, shopping for fun things to keep the baby entertained. Tonight my son called me on face time and Nicholas was laughing and trying to grab the pad, warms my heart that he is finally seeing me as someone who makes him happy:)

I am better, not great, but not any worse. I did go for xrays, nothing broken, he said it was tendonitis but had no idea what to do. I go to my doc this week, so he can help me out, I hope. I was able to do a lot more today, house is all clean so I can spend the day playing with Nicholas. He comes later, so that will be easier on me.

These pillows were waiting to be sewed and stuffed. I used batting since they are gifts for friends that they can use anytime, so I didn't want to scent them. Sometimes I dab a pillow with cinnamon so the packaged items smell good when they open it.

The angels are designs by Primitive Blessings. The nativity is an old design and I modified it a bit, meant to put a star on it, guess I will do that tomorrow. The two little pillows in front are stuffed with balsam. I wanted to have something that I could make up quick to hand out or add to packages, and I finally found a nice pine design to use. This way they can add it a bowl, place it in a tree, or wherever they want a scent. I made them 4", so small in size, but more in scent.

Mary is on the left, I messed up and cut out the wrong colors for the outfits, she should be in blue, lol.

These ornies are a design by Whimsicals. I have had the book for years and I finally got around to making some. I used marvy markers on two and pitt artist ink markers on the others, but I forgot what, was what, duh. They both worked, they did not run after heat setting, but you do have to be careful when you color in the letters and start away from the line so it doesn't soak out too far. I did the outline stitching after I colored and dried them. The ink doesn't need to be set, but I do it as an added precaution. Of course I soaked them in walnut to grunge them up. The jute is something new at Jo anns, Martha Stewart colored jute, it is a nice dark olive.

And now for the winner. Thank you all for playing along with me, I truly enjoy everyones company since I am stuck home most of the time, I feel blessed to have friends around the world. The winner of a free Epattern or booklet, is Annie of Scrappalachia. Annie, pick any pattern you would like and email me with your choice. Don't forget, Friday is Giveaway day, I will be showing the goodies I will be sending and more about the giveaway.

Speaking of giveaways, the generous folks at Sauder's Fabrics, are giving away a beautiful Featherweight, be sure to visit their Blog.

Thank God its Friday Giveaway!

I haven't said that in decades, lol. Never thought I would say it again, but this has been a tough week. I am just getting over the flu, still hurting in some places and my sweet grandson seems to need constant attention or he screams.

I do have my natural instinct and experience, so I try to keep him on schedule for feeding and sleeping, but his mom still feeds on demand and he will be 6 months this month, is this normal? I am giving him what he needs since this is his first week being away so long, but I also need to find ways to keep him occupied so I can sit and relax once in a while. I bought a play chair, that lasts about 5 minutes, the rocking seat, doesn't work at all and I am reduced to walking around in circles with the stroller, lol.

So, that is all I did this week, watch the baby, rest and clean the next day..... until the week was over. To top it off, my son wanted me to take him with us so he could study tomorrow. Had to put my foot down on that one, it is our weekend, we shop and go for walks and it is the last nice weekend for now.

But, we do have our fun times and I found one way to keep him calm while I sit and relax, but that won't work, it is way too cold out now.

Another trick I used, was one I did with his dad. Big carrots are a great way to help with teething and keep them occupied. My son would sit for hours and suck on one, Nick was enjoying it at first, then the screaming started. This was during his happy moment.

And for the giveaway ........ Write a caption for this photo. I will draw a name from the entries and the winner will receive a free epattern. The contest is open until Sunday, November 17th. I will announce the winner on Monday and hopefully by then I will have my items finished off.

Next Friday will be my Bday giveaway, a package filled with goodies for one lucky winner. One item will be the extra snowman stitchery that I finished for the last contest. There will also be a couple of balsam filled items, so I will show them next week.

I would also like to know what you, my followers like, what types of items you would like to see in the box? I have lots of stash for all types of crafting, so give me an idea of what you would love to win? You can also do a search on my blog by using keywords, I do use a lot on each post, so if were looking for snowmen, type that in and they will pop up. I maybe have given it away or it may be in my goodie box, or I may have kept it and ready to pass it along.

Ok, here is the photo, have fun, make me laugh, I really do need one;)

Happy Veteran's Day!

I was raised with a military Dad. He retired before I was born, yes I was a late stage surprise;)
My Brothers both enlisted in the 60's, it was the thing to do then.

I am proud of both of them and this is my brother Richard, he is the oldest and he would send me a postcard from all of the different countries that he was in. I still have them, precious memories of a big brother who loved his little sister and went to serve his country and protect her.

Here he is standing in front of the Amangansett train station in 1964, heading for Greece.

My nephews also took on the proud tradition, as well. My Nephew Michael is still in active service and not only has he spent his time in active war zones, he has raised a wonderful family of his own.

I helped raise my nephew Phillip when he was little and my sister was on her own again. He was a sweet boy, very timid and not someone who I ever thought would enlist. He joined the military police and earned a degree in English, so he will be a teacher someday and be there for other kids. Here is is receiving the bronze star, last year. I am proud of my family for serving our country and thankful that they have come home safely.

My prayers for all the men and woman who serve and blessings that they will be protected by angels as they risk their lives to keep our country save.

And, on another note, this has not been a good month for me. I have been in a lot of pain and then sick, so trying to get rid of the rest of the flu and see what pains are left, lol. Since my fall, my elbow and arm are hurting and I find it hard to sew for long and I drop things a lot. So, I know I need to call my doc and see about getting X-rays. It means I will not be pushing myself and making as many gifts as I had wanted. I will be having a contest this month and I might be announcing it on friday, so stay tuned.

Today was my day off, nothing to do but rest and go for a nice ride to get out. Except, my DIL got a part time holiday job, so grandma is babysitting. Bill and Dani were home so they helped when I needed a break and we took him for a ride. As with all babies, he loves to ride in a car and he loves to go shopping, have never seen him smile so much, lol. The beach was too cool and windy to stay long, but it was a nice drive anyways.

Grandpa and Grandson time.

Friday Finishes!

It was a slow week, but I did get a few things done. I did a search for designs using coloring pages as the add on and found some nice designs to try. I wanted to make round ornies with them, but then stuffed them too much, the balsam does weigh more than stuffing so I decided to keep them, as is and call them bowl fillers. I think they would be nice in a display with fake greenery to give the scent of fresh pine.

The candle was too light to see, so I colored in some yellow with fabric markers, and the flash made it look brighter, than it is. The birds were done on a white cloth and then I tea stained them. I think for the next ornies, I need to make a packet, filled with balsam to put into them.

I sewed these by machine, but I think I like the ones that I hand sewed and left a raw edge. Those I can just make a packet of scent, so will try that type next.

I also worked on my hexagon tree skirt and finally got it all together. Now I have to decide how to trim the edges. I wanted to quilt it, but I need to figure out how to do the edge. Add one on after I quilt it or add a ruffle and then quilt it, but not sure if that will work. Would love suggestions and comments on how you made your tree skirts.

It was raining and windy today, so no out door photos. The flash really messes with colors, but his one is brighter, not prim. I like brighter folk art for Christmas, as well as prim styles, mixed together.

And here is a close up of my piecing. I cut out the hexagons with a go cutter, then I mark the seams with a quarter inch ruler. Then I sew them by hand, matching the seam lines and the points, so I usually get nice joins but on occasion I get sloppy and there are a few creases, here and there;)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

My New Friend!

Last week I was the lucky winner of one of Pam's wonderful creations. Some of you know her as Soft in the Head. I have always loved visiting Pam's blog to see what new creations she comes up with each week. She has a wonderful way with creating unique, one of a kind characters and each one has unique details and acessories.

You can see how much everyone love's her creations by the fact that her pieces sell out, the minute she puts them onto her selling sites. I have always wanted one of her pieces and I was so excited that I actually won one and I just love this guy.

His name is Posthumous PODD and he looks wonderful with my fall decor. He even has his own death certificate, morbidly fun. I decided to put him up on a shelve so my kitties don't try to eat his hair, lol.

No riding or walking this weekend, still sore and then Bill got sick from eating bad food. This is when I am happy that I can't eat food like that;) Today I made up some coloring book stitcheries, so they should be done in a few days.

Be sure to visit, Soft in the Head, her blog is very inspirational and she also sells patterns, so you can make your own.

Friday Finishes!

I had a slow week, a bit of sewing a bit at a time, but I was able to finish one project and make two small ones.

I have been working on the stitched pillow for months, and I finally finished it. It is nice to have a large project that I can work on when I am done with one and waiting to get the next, ready. This is a design by Kathy Schmitz in her book, Simple Pleasures in Redwork. I have made a few of the projects from her book and have a few more that I like, a book that has a lot to offer with all types of projects.

I added the border with a reproduction print to match the blue couch. I do wish I had looked at the border before sewing it on, it should have the top and bottom with the longer pieces to balance it out, but it will have to do. It is an odd sized pillow so I cut up an old pillow to fit the size.

Since my hands are still bothering me, I did up some small stitchery pillows. I can't just sit and do nothing, so hopefully my hands will heal soon and I can get more done. At least I will have lots of gifts for this year:)

The angel pillow is a design from the book Heart Warmings by Pieces from my Heart. I reduced the design for a mini pillow. The deer is a design by Robin of  Bird in the Hand Primitives. Robin has a lot of wonderful free designs that she changes with the seasons.

I antiqued these and then added some stuffing and Balsam. I add stuffing to keep the pillows from being too heavy for shipping.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a beautiful weekend to be outside, so of course I had to take advantage of it. Saturday we watched Baby Nicholas while his mom went to an interview, so we enjoyed out time with him and went for a late drive to the lighthouse.

We walked around the road and Dani had fun scrambling around on the rocks.

The tide was out, so the seagulls were soaring with the winds, looking for anything that washed up, for dinner.

This guy was enjoying crab for dinner.

Sunday was bike riding day. We went to a bike path that starts at a historical rail station. It goes through  swamps and even towns. It is a beautiful place to ride in the fall.

Lots of winding rivers, we have actually paddled down this one.

The bike path still has one section that isn't finished, so we kept going and went to Narragansett Beach.
We sat on the wall and this was our view to the right.

 And our view to the right. We did 15 miles on this trip.

Today we finally got to try the bike path in town. It is a new one and was surprised at how nice the path was, all paved and new plantings where the old base used to be. It goes past a cove and ends at a beach, so perfect for riding close to home.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. This afternoon I caught up with housework and working on a stitchery.

Christmas Pillows!

This week I worked on some pillows. I wanted to try some stenciled pillows and these are the result. I got stencils on a sale and used acrylic paints. I mixed the paint with fabric medium to make them waterproof and it also keeps them from being too stiff.

I made the pillows to fit the size of the stencils, so you can do them in any size that you want. After I stenciled them, I put them in the dryer for 25 minutes and heat set them. Then I sprayed the lighter pillows with walnut spray. For those I used a stark white fabric and you can see it ages it nicely. The snowflakes were done on coffee stained fabric from moda. With the snowflakes, I added a little sparkle paint, but it doesn't show in the photo.

Once they were dry, I cut them to size and added a piece of batting to each side and sewed them, right sides together. I use the batting so when I fill them, the balsam sits in between the batting. You can leave an opening at the bottom for turning, or you can make a slit on the backside. I used a slit and covered it, after they were stuffed.

I added the border stitching, after they were stuffed. I hide the stitches by pulling them into the edges.

I stenciled them with a stencil brush and used a smaller brush to get into the smaller areas.

The snowflakes were done with white, then a glitter paint over that, so it has a light sparkle to it. The white is not as bold in person, the camera tends to heighten paint colors.

For my backs, I sewed the slit up with a basic slip stitch and then added a penny to cover the area. My camera was acting up today and the flash wasn't working right, so the colors are way off. This is tea stained cotton ticking, a great way to finish christmas pillows. I used green on the others.