I LOVE making pillows!

What IS it about pillows?!  I just can't get enough of them.... I have an on-going list of more pillows that I can't wait to create.  My favorite way to go about this is to purchase plain pillows from a store (had great success at Ikea most recently)... especially if the plain colored pillow case has a zipper at the bottom where you can pull out the pillow core, then we're in business!  I'm pretty much stuck on using wool felt as the medium for the design I sew onto pillows (my love for wool felt is heavily influenced by my mom).  Shapes, words, colors..... so many pillow inspirations all around me.  Here are a few I've made in the past year or so:

Pillow for Peter's (younger brother's) birthday.  He has worn a necklace with this fish hook symbol on it for years:

 

Pillow for Kali Sage's 14th Birthday:

Blue Heart pillow to go with my new Ikea curtains:

I can't wait to show you more!

Cheers,

Ellen 

(p.s. my favorite glass pendant to wear (from previous post) is the little green guy.... I think he's super cute and looks like he wants to hug everyone!)

DIY- Glass Tiles!

All of the glass tiles pictured were made about a year and a half ago.  I made most of them, but some were made/selected for me.  Magnets are pictured on top, while the bottom photo with the yellow background (current color of my dresser) are pendants.  Even though I've had all of these tiles for some time, my interest in them has recently been renewed by a designer who was interested in maybe starting this hobby herself.  She's an amazing and talented interior designer, but insists she doesn't have any crafty talents.  Yeah right!  I shared with her the links my mother uses for materials... so we'll see if it catches-on for her.  Imagine- ANY image you can think of/create/print-out can become a necklace or a magnet.  How fun!  In case you're interested, here are the websites my mom gets her materials from (and then generously shares with her daughter): sunandmoodcraftkits.com, unitedcraftersinc.com, and wholesalersusainc.com. 
Can you guess which glass tile pendant is my favorite? (i.e. the one I've worn the most?)  Take a guess!  I'll try to remember to tell you the answer in the next couple of posts...
Cheers,
Ellen

fish pillow(s)

Two weekends ago, I found the fish pillow on the left at a Home Goods store in the Chicago burbs.  At first glance of this 'fish head' pillow, I knew I had to purchase it and make a 2nd pillow to complete the fish's body!  The very next day using materials I already had at home (how handy is that!), I completed the project.  I love the quirky results.  "Welcome to my living room, here is my fish."

tie-dye 101

First Blog!  First time die-dying as well!  I purchased a tie-dye kit online a few weeks ago.  This weekend, one of my best friends from interior design school visited me in Madison from Illinois.  It was a rainy weekend, so we busted out the dye!  I dyed what once was a large white tunic (which was starting to look dull) for myself, added red to a little pink onsie for my new niece Addison, and colored a summer fun shirt for my favorite 2-year old: my nephew Benjamin. I'm happy with these first-time results; can't wait to do it again! No cotton garment is safe. :)