small design

It was raining over the weekend so I gave the children a big square of linen each and told them they could design their own cushions to put on their beds- which was very exciting, for the first hour, at least.

I gave Keira a paintbrush and a selection of fabric paints, and let her paint directly on the surface of the fabric (the linen was a thick, close-weave type, which was good for this purpose.)  Arlo wanted to paint a train on his piece, so I found a piece of freezer paper, and he drew his design on that first. I cut it out for him (a bit frustrating- it took ages and I didn't include all his detail, and he lost a bit of interest in the project while I was doing this), and then he filled in the gaps with fabric paint:

After the paint had dried, I ironed the backs of the fabric to heat-set the designs, let the kids choose backing fabric to match (blue wool and some geometric barkcloth), and then sewed them up into covers.

K calls this 'clouds and grass' :

 

Comments

[nomayne]

how cute is that train pillow! and K is so proud of hers too! yes, i know about the 5 minute attention span of children at that age.... it took me 2 weeks to get sophia to finish her painting!

[jen]

how fun
well done to you

[kirsten]

these are gorgeous! the train is amazing, and of COURSE it's called 'Clouds and Grass'!!!

good job, kids (and mum!)!

[Dawn]

What a great keepsake! you are so creative. What lucky little ones you have. I always shrugged when people said I was creative with my kids when they were young, but when I look back I think, "wow, that WAS cool."

[Ellen]

What a brilliant school holiday project... thank you!

[Louise]

Wow, these are fantastic! Could be a good holiday project for mine!

[amanda]

Those are wonderful! I want to make one :)

[stephanie]

that is just too sweet! i love love the clouds and grass :)

[Fiona]

fantastic! I don't know how freezer paper works so that part sure sounds challenging. I can imagine the excitement and happiness when the cushions are done. :)

[Regina]

The train is so great! And Keira looks so happy with her pillow! Too cute! Great idea for the kiddos.

[Megan]

Too fabulous. I am in love with Arlo's train.

[alisonmc]

Very cute :) Arlo's trains turned out so well! The freezer paper technique is very clever.

[Jessicah]

Both pillows are great- and not a grumpy Mama in sight! I did some crafting with the girls I babysit for today, and that was a bit of a challenge. 4 yo never really had any attention to lose, but the 7yo stuck with to the end and was proud of her FO! Thanks for the inspiration a few posts back to try sewing with them :)

[VictoriaE]

They look great Melissa, thanks for the idea.

[leslie]

so gorgeous and what a great way to spend the afternoon together!

[Zelia]

I love them all!
Great idea... as soon as my son has any controle over some paint, i will steel this idea from you:)

[Claudia]

Too cute! Arlo is so sweet hiding behind his pillow, and look at Keira's face! Great idea, M x

[caireen]

they look great! better than Ikea! - although if you said you'd bought the train cover I'd have believed it. Would also like to know more about the freezer paper (?) is this on a roll? technique. Hope you had a lovely weekend. Cx

[liz]

so cute - what a great idea!
i love it!

[Emma]

Beautiful pillows! I bet Arlo and Keira will sleep well and dream happy dreams when they use them.
I know how empty it can be when a loved one is out of town and I hope you all are coping well with it and that your evenings are not too quiet.

[cosy]

those are brilliant :D

[Lori]

very,very cute

[celine]

They are sooo lovely. Crafting with your kids is the best thing

[Chara Michele]

K looks so proud of herself:) What a fun project:)

[Abby]

awesome.... just beautifully awesome.... well done guys
luv Abby