unicorns and rainbows {another pillow!}

My daughters had two birthday parties to attend this weekend (in addition to all the regular holiday hoopla which was crazy)  so last week I thought it would be a fun idea to make each birthday girl a unicorn & rainbow pillow.  Of course I wasn’t organized enough to take a pic of the first pillow, but the second one, which is virtually identical to the first, I clicked a pic of minutes before leaving for the party.

Now if you think the pillow looks uber-stuffed, you would be correct.  I ran into Joanns with the kids last week one day after school and hurriedly grabbed some pillow forms for upcoming gifts.  I guess instead of 12” pillow insertsI picked up 14”.  Luckily they fit in the 12” covers just barely!

The quilting turned out nicely on both pillows.  I took a photo from the wrong side before adding the envelope back because the design shows up much better that way.

One of the fabrics I used for the back says “Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn, then always be a unicorn.”  That’s something I would have loved to read over and over again when I was a kid.

The fabric is called Unicorns and Rainbows by Riley Blake.  You can still find the fabric available online.

Hope you had a fun (and not too crazy) weekend!

A Cotton + Steel Giveaway

It was my birthday this month, and one of my daughter’s, too.  Luckily her birthday is just four short days after mine so her special day eclipses mine, which is just how I like it now that getting a year older isn’t quite as fun as it used to be.  I treated myself to lots of quilting related presents this month…

Did you know that you can get a pair of Gingher shears on Amazon for between $20-$23, which is a lot off the price at craft store?  Amazon has other pretty good quilting deals.  A pack of 5 Olfa 45mm rotary cutter blades will only run you $14-$15.  Add them to your cart and watch the price fluctuate up and down, then snag them when you think it’s a good price.

Speaking of scissors, I tried sharpening my old pairs with the tin foil and sandpaper methods, but neither worked.  The Gingher shears are much heavier than the Fiskars brand I used before, but they slice through several layers of fabric like a hot knife through butter.  Plus I’m pretty sure my husband can sharpen them in our electric knife sharpener if they go dull. 

In the spirit of birthdays, I thought I’d give away 4 fat quarters of my favorite prints from the Cotton + Steel fabric lines that came out earlier this year, a little thank you for reading my blog!  Your comments really brighten my day and encourage me to keep creating.

So if you’ve left a comment on my blog in 2014, leave a comment here to be entered in the drawing.  This giveaway is open to all followers, US and international.  The winner will be drawn on Wednesday, October 1st.  Thank you for reading my blog and good luck!