hope and honey: how to make fabulous lace snowflake pillows

they are finally done!!! i began making these pillow covers last december and i did most of the work back then. but when i couldn't find the right coordinating fabric and winter became spring, i shelved the project until, you know, snowflakes were on my mind again.

materials used:

heaps of lace trimmings of all shapes, sizes, and patterns

red quilting cotton for center panel

vintage floral bedsheet for border fabric

mustard velour for backing fabric

sewing machine, thread, pins, cutting mat, rotary cutter, creativity, love, and a couple nap times

last year, i was the incredibly blessed recipient of a huge box of fabric and trims. a good college friend has an uber cool job working with gorgeous silk and lace. she needed to clean out her studio and thoughtfully gifted me with lots of lovelies for the stash. all of the lace trims from this project came from that box. (i wish all of us crafters could have a jane!)

i began by cutting my square center panels to the desired size. i chose red to help the creams and soft white to pop. then i cut and pieced lace trim on the squares until an eye-pleasing snowflake pattern was made. after pinning these arrangements like crazy, i sewed up and down the edges with my machine. et voila! you have a seriously fabulous lace snowflake!

next i added this pretty blue and green border. the strips were cut from vintage flatsheets donated to the stash from my sweet mother-in-law. her gift solved my coordinating fabric problem. with the red and white curtains directly behind the couch, i wanted to add more depth to the color story on this wall.

for the backs, i sewed a simple envelope closure with a soft mustard velour. the color similarity with the mustard couch works well with the texture difference. and this rich fabric looks very winter-y too.

completing projects with materials i have on hand gives me satisfaction like no other craftiness can. i look at these pillows and think, "how cool is that?" rather than beginning with a clear vision, i let my stash speak to me. the challenge stretches me as an artist and i find the creative process much more exciting this way.