Friday, March 18, 2011

Felted Pillow

          I dug out a project I had started quite a while ago ,and wanted to try and complete it. I needed to take a break from the projects that I have to do for my shop, I just needed a little creative time,instead of a coffee break more like a creative juice break. I've been wanting to make some small pillows for our bedroom at our cottage or "camp" as we call it. Keeping the theme of beach decor,or seaside nautical,or a blend of all actually. Since our bedroom is blue,white and a soft yellow I thought I would use some old denim scraps from a pair of worn out jeans.I hate to throw them out,I always feel a craft idea will come to me.
I dug out my needle felting tools and some wool and a small piece of blue wool felt. I simply did a free hand shape and started felting.I truly had no idea where this would take me. I had a picture of a sand dollar as a sort of guide.Once I had the design the way I wanted it I then decided I would hand stitch through and around it so it would remain secure.I added a brown wool to give it more dimension.

 It becomes fun once something starts to come together. I cut out a small section of denim for the pillow and pinned the wool to the front. Then I sat down and rummage through a box of old buttons and beads.Nothing relaxes me and gives a burst of enthusiasm like rummaging through a box of junk.It can really recharge my old battery. In that old box I found some seashell shape beads I'd forgotten I had. I couldn't help but add them for an extra touch.

 So at this point I added the one thing I am terrible at and that's embroidery. I tried to add the words Sand Dollar and it looks rough....oh well it's rustic! Ha Ha!
 It maybe a small pillow but it has created some big ideas in my head for later. I love pillows on the bed however my husband....not so much.So you can just imagine his delight when he realized this was for our cottage.It makes a gal want to make a hundred of them =)




We actually built this cottage from items we had salvaged over time.We had acquired a couple windows from a job where we had to demo a house due to fire. They weren't damaged at all.Construction has a lot of waste so if you look there is always ways to use much of what is thrown out. Our lot originally had an old camper/trailer that we use for a year. Now this venture was done as a family and we spend a lot of time there together. Once it gets nice,and Friday hits we hit the road for the camp. It's only about an hour away so it's "RELAXATION" that isn't too far from home. We can feel the stress melt way as we walk through the door.

We decided we didn't want it to ba another place to do more work. Make it simple,live simple. So we bought little using what we had as much as possible.Our headboard for our bed is actually a section of white fencing.It looks great and fits right into the beach/seaside feel. We made our lamps from pieces of left over columns we had used for a house we built. Paint them white and since they are hollow the wiring was so easy to feed through.

Due to lack of space my husband made our night stands like shelves,and fastened them to the wall.This allows space to be used underneathe. Since we were so limited on space for the whole place (the park has limitations)we didn't build closets.So he made us a wooden shelving unit from ceiling to floor which we painted white.We simply fold much of our clothes and place them on shelves or in wicker baskets.He did take a small corner next to the shelving unit and add a pole for a few hanging items.
He put the TV up on the wall to save space,made like our night stands.


 We decided to decorate the bathrooms in bright colors just for fun. We were able to stick a tiny half bath in the area with the hot water heater. Hey it works that's what matters.



We hang all of the towels in the hall on pegs and I am in the middle of decorating clothes pins with our names. Space is an issue,but having family fun is the priority!





                                                       Hurry up Spring we're ready!!

13 comments:

  1. How neat! Looks like those creative juices started flowing nicely...love the pillows.

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  2. Rebecca I love this pillow...and the buttons are perfection!

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  3. Rebecca - this is wonderful. So creative, gal! Congrats on the fire sales, too - you ROCK! Been down with a bad cold...should have that piece we talked about in the mail to you by Monday, latest. Have a great weekend...Tanya

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  4. That cottage is amazing! I love that white fence headboard. Great job- and nice pillow too! :D

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  5. Your holiday place looks perfect and your pillow came out great! Oh and my DH isn't a fan of pillows on the bed either - must be a man thing :-)

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  6. Love the pillow and all the repurposing of good stuff.

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  7. Way to follow a dream to the end. I just love your cozy cottage. Your original pillow turned out beautifully!

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  8. Free hand? Your sewing is so neat! Love how you turned something unwanted to a beautiful one.

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  9. The pillow is beautiful and the cottage I am sure it will host many happy family moments!

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  10. the pillow looks great,
    and the "camp" looks so adorable!
    very clever that you managed to make so many beautiful items out of what would of been dumped as trash.

    youve got a gift !

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  11. How cute! Absolutely love it! Im your newest follower. I found your blog on Team Etsy of Indiana. My shop is Girls N Curls Boutique.

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  12. WOW! I wish I could do needle felting but I am absolutely HOPELESS! Rebecca, the pillow is genius, and SUCH a great way to use the denim! That LOOKS beachy! LOVE the sand dollar!

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  13. I don't know what you're talking about haha because the embroidery looks good! The more you keep trying new techniques and keep creating new things with embroidery, you'll start to see how it all works more and more! This is pretty :)

    ~ Elli

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