Tuesday 3 December 2013

A Cushion (or two!) for Christmas

:: Giveaway now closed::

 We’re all on the hunt for handmade goodies we can make for Christmas gifts at this time of year. Particularly ones that are fairly quick to make! So clever MsMidge has put together a blog hop featuring cute cushions that can be made in less than a day (you should see the amazing cushions Midge has made!). And today is my stop on the hop!

So seeing as I have two kidlets, I made two cushions. But guess what? I made them both in one day. Easy peasy. Ok so I cheated a little. I bought these some awesome screenprinted panels from the very talented Cat & Vee. I've been wanting to get some of these panels for awhile - this was the perfect excuse! I didn’t need to add too much to the cushions as I didn’t want to detract from these sweet puppies.

Pipsqueak cushions

I let the kids choose which panels they wanted from Cat & Vee’s shop. Let me tell you – there was much deliberation going on before they both surprised me by wanting the same little panel – called Pipsqueak. Fortunately the panel was printed in different colours including my kids’ favourites – pink and red.

Pink Pipsqueak cushion

I added simple patchwork borders around the outside of the panel. Being that the panel is linen, I then reinforced the seams by zig zagging close to the straight stitched seam as well.

The pom pom trim was suggested by my friend Erin of Missy Mac Creations. She’s on a pom pom trim kick, and now so am I. This was my first time working with this kind of trim but it was really quite easy!

Pink pom pom trim

It makes for a lovely tactile edging to the cushion. Plus, cute. I followed this tutorial on how to add the pom pom trim and it worked perfectly. Oh except I left some of the trim base to peek through my cushion edging, rather than having it tucked all completely inside the cushion. That was just personal preference (plus the trim was a lot wider than I realised!).

Red Pipsqueak cushion

I really wanted red pom pom trim for this cushion but unfortunately there was none to be found in any of the three shops I visited. I guess with Christmas approaching, there are a lot of people hoarding red pom pom trim to drape around their tree. Or something.

Blue pom pom trim

The blue works alright – and apparently it’s my son’s second favourite colour. So that makes it acceptable to him
Winking smile
I finished both cushions off with a zipper closure – was a tad tricky with the pom pom trim as well but I managed. Also I should mention, I like a nice plump stuffed cushion, so I made my cushion cover around 14.5” square, while the cushion insert was 16”. Makes for a lovely full cushion!
So within a day, I managed to get something made for both my kidlets for Christmas and tick one more thing off my list!

Pipsqeak cushions for Christmas

Now I have a little extra for my post! The lovely Catherine and Vanita (the clever girls behind Cat & Vee) popped in some extra little panels as goodies in my order. It came as a lovely surprise to find those in there, along with a note from Catherine saying I could do with them what I wished! So I’ve decided to share the generosity and offer these cute Awesomeville panels up for a giveaway!

Awesomeville panels from Cat and Vee

Aren’t these the cutest?! These postcard sized panels can go into a 4” x 6” frame, or be turned into a mini cushion, or pincushion or whatever you can think of! Now I better be upfront. Awesomeville panels come in a pack of 5… but there are only 4 pictured here for the giveaway (the two outside are postcards). Sorry. Little Miss fell in love with the fox, and well, that was that.

Awesomeville fox

Can’t really blame her, can you?! Though of course if you want the full pack, you can find it here.
So for a chance to win these little bits of cuteness… just leave a comment – maybe tell me what your favourite item is from Cat & Vee’s shop! Followers get a bonus entry (though you need to leave a second entry saying so). A winner will be drawn on the 9th December, Aussie time.

And after you’ve left a comment for the giveaway, pop by and check out the rest of the blog hop. There’s all sorts of fabulous inspiration to be found! Oh yeah and you get to be part of the fun too! There will be a linky party at MsMidge’s place on the 14th December to share your cushions and have a chance at some fab prizes! Check out all the details here.
 
bloghop

Happy cushion-making, my quilty friends!

61 comments:

  1. I'm shocked! I was expecting some PP pillow and there are two cute non PP. Well done Kristy!

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  2. I love your cushions!!
    My favourite item from catandvee is the cockatoo panel!

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  3. Superschöne Kissen !! Ich mag am liebsten das Motiv Lisey Meow Meow ;-)

    Viele Grüße
    Marion

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  4. Lovely cushions, I wonder if I can squeeze in one more project before Christmas? My favourite item would be the panda panel to make into a soft toy.

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  5. Ich folge dir über Google und lese immer wieder gerne auf deinem Blog.

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  6. Love your pillows! Love the Pipsqueek Panel! I've had several mini dauchunds over the years and this is a neat design.

    Thanks for a super giveaway and a chance to win.

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. Love the cushions Kristy, the pink panel was just perfect and you have to love a pom-pom trim :)

    Cat and Vee have some great panels, the wine panel just sums up life!

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  8. I love the purple Bella Hoo owl :)

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  9. And I follow you on bloglovin.

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  10. These are fabulous Kristy! LOVE the panels!!

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  11. Following you via BlogLovin.

    Thanks again for a chance to win.

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. So cute! I love that you're keeping the fox for your sweetie. :)

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  13. I love the Hello Gorgeous Cockatoo panel!

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  14. I follow you through my blog list!

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  15. Ah you're too kind sharing with us :-) My favourite is the screen printed panda.
    Love your cushions by the way and the pom pom trim is perfect!

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  16. and you know I follow you... right!?!
    :-)

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  17. Loved your pillows. Thank you for introducing us to Cat and Vee. I have marked her shop as a favorite now. I cannot decide between the "Move over coffee..." panel, and "I'd love to be married to me..." panel.

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  18. Being a Crazy Cat Lady, my fave panel has to be Lisey Meow Meow :-)

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  19. Sweet little cushions and I love how you added the pompoms.

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  20. these are so gorgeous Kristy :-) And the postcard panels - lets just say I've had them in my etsy shopping basket for a while but my husband will flip if I actually buy them. So I have my fingers crossed!!

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  21. I love your pillows! And I love the Cockatoo panel!

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  22. thank you SO MUCH for such an awesome blog post Kristy. Your Pipsqueak cushions are both gorgeous - I love that you've sewn a pom pom trim onto both of them too - we both love a bit of pom pom trim too! That's so lovely too that you are passing on the Awesomeville panels - totally understand keeping the sweet little fox for yourself - I've sewn a couple pincushions from the panels, with some pom pom trim - and also a few little softies, without the trim. They're a great size for little hands. Thanks again for such a lovely + kind blog post, we really appreciate it. talk soon on instagram/Flickr. xx

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  23. love your cushions - the pom pom trim looks fab too ! love those awesomeville panels - that fox is a little darling and love big hearted girl too - very generous to give them away :)

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  24. I love the screen print panels - so cute! And the pom poms are lovely :)

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  25. Little Miss has good taste; I think I may need to order that fox!!

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  26. What adorable cushions! I am seriously IN LOVE with everything in their shop! The panda is super cute and the panels with the sayings are too funny!

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  27. Love your cushions with these nice pom pom.Well done!

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  28. Love your cushions! And really, you can never go wrong with pom pom trim... in any colour!

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  29. My fave is the panda.

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  30. I follow on Bloglovin. elsiesgeekery(at)zoho(dot)com

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  31. your pillows are wonderful, the kiddos are going to love them. And I don't blame the miss for keeping the fox. That is one adorable fox. Thanks for a chance.

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  32. The screen printing at Cat & Vee is terrific -- gives me ideas....

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  33. I do love your puppy cushions but my favourite from Cat and Vee would have to be that fox ! So cute .

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  34. Oh, I love these pillows ~ so darling!
    And, I love everything in Cat & Vee's shop ~ tho especially the Fox and Cat ~ the parakeet is awfully cute too!

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  35. Most definitely a follower of your blog!

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  36. So hard to choose. My favorites might be the set you are showing (including the fox…) or the Bella Who owl. Thanks for sharing.

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  37. I'm following on Bloglovin'.

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  38. I like the Awesomeville panels the most!

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  39. Thank you for introducing me to Cat & Vee! ♥♥♥ their crsxy panels and especially love your children's choice. Heading over to try and decide which I just can't live without!

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  40. Thank you for introducing me to Cat & Vee! ♥♥♥ their crsxy panels and especially love your children's choice. Heading over to try and decide which I just can't live without!

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  41. I loved the pillow covering about the wine...Would love to get that for my daughter. Thank you for a nice giveaway.

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  42. Hi! I like Millie Mischief and Lissa Meow. Your daughter has good taste. I think foxes are going to be the new owl, if you know what I mean.

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  43. I don't blame Little Miss at all! That little fox is just adorable. I'm a happy Bloglovin follower as well.

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  44. Lovely cushions! Cat & Vee stuff is awesome! I love the pineapple print panel.

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  45. Love your cushions Kristy - the pom pom trim is perfect for them! I love all of Cat and Vee's panels but a my favourite would have to be the Galah with "Nobody puts Baby in the corner":)

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  46. Millie Mischief is my favorite screen print panel but your kiddos have good taste!

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  47. Gorgeous cushions and the pom pom trim is just perfect for kids. Love them!

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  48. Oh these are too cute! and I can see why that fox was snapped up! :) Thanks for being so generous!

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  49. Love your Pipsqueak pillow! I adore Cat & Vee they are so talented :)

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I read each and every word! I'll do my best to reply to them either via email or here on the blog, when time permits!