Customize your own TIE pillow

I recently made a pillow for an Etsy customer out of her grandfather's neckties. He had passed away last fall and she wanted to give the pillow to her mother on her mother's birthday. The tie pillow turned out so well and was such a neat idea that I am going to start offering custom tie pillows as a regular product in my Etsy shop. It's a great way to remember or honor someone special like a father, grandfather, brother, boyfriend, or husband. (By the way,the little embroidered 22 in the corner is for his lucky number.)

Here's what my customer said about her pillow:

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I gave my mom the pillow yesterday and she LOVES it. There were a lot of tears. And a lot of thanks yous. So my hat's off to you for all the great work. -Kendra

Spring Pillows at Helix

I just took a new batch of Shutterstitch pillows to Helix, a hip gift store in downtown Athens that sells my work. Go check them out before they are all gone. One of my most popular pillows is the "Athens map" pillow or "UGA map" pillow. The maps are printed on fabric, quilted so that they puff up, and are washable.

Favorite Artist of the Week: The House of Mouse

Who doesn't love miniatures? This adorable Frida Kahlo Mouse comes with a photo of herself and Diego Rivera as well as her signature unibrow.

The House of Mouse, on Etsy, hand sews each mouse using felt, silks, ribbon, glue, paper, card, wire, beads, monofilament and stuffs them with polyfil.

Too cute!

Cards for Africa

Here is another great non-profit called Cards for Africa. This helps families affected by AIDS and genocide in Rwanda. There are all types of cards from birthday and thank you cards to wedding and valentine cards.

Global Mamas

My Mom just introduced me to this wonderful non-profit called Global Mamas. They help women in Africa earn a fair, sustainable livelihood by making clothing, accessories, and home decor. All proceeds go directly to the women and to non-profit programs that assist them with business development.

I loved so many things on their website, but finally ended up purchasing a bag, shirt, and skirt. I can't wait for them to arrive in the mail!

Favorite Artist of the Week: Satisfactory

I LOVE these cozy jersey cotton scarves by Satisfactory. This one is printed with an image of horses on it. Can't you imagine cuddling up in it on a cold day?

The Making of a Quilted Shutterstitch Pillow

Step 1- I pick out harmonious colored fabrics and cut them into strips with my rotary cutter.

Step 2- I arrange the strips so they create a nice composition with well balanced colors and patterns.

Step 3- The strips are sewn together.

Step 4- I machine quilt batting onto the back of the pillow top to make it "puff out".

Step 5- The envelope style backing is sewn on.

Step 6- Wa-la! The pillowcase is finished. I will then stuff it with a pillow insert and it will be on its merry way to its new owner.

Recycled Fabric Cards

I am trying to recycle as much as possible and have been making these cute fabric cards out of the scraps of fabric leftover from my pillows. I was inspired by a Pippi Longstocking book with fabric illustrations that I saw at my school. The cards are available on my Etsy shop.