CUSTOM PORTRAITS OF YOUR FAMILY HOME

There's a new item in my Etsy shop!  Here's how it evolved . . .

While on our trip to my oil painting workshop in Kentucky, I vowed to do a little something every day in my watercolor journal.  I knew if I didn't write it down (or draw it, as the case may be), a lot of the trip's memories would be lost.  So I did one or two pages in my journal every evening of our trip.  A couple of those pages involved the drawing of houses - the B&B in Versailles, KY, and our own home.   After posting those drawings on Facebook and this blog, several friends suggested that I add "home portraits" to my Etsy shop.

I hope you'll check it out.  I think it's very reasonably priced and a great, personalized gift for a new homeowner, or as a lasting memory of your childhood or current home.  I've tweaked it a bit since I first posted it on my Facebook page, altering the sizes just a bit to accommodate a mat with each drawing.  When your home portrait arrives, it will be matted and ready to slip into a standard size frame.  All you need to do it take a few photos and send them to me via my Etsy shop, and iPhone photos are just fine.  I give photographing suggestions on the listing page in Etsy.  

You can check it out here.

BURLAP SUBWAY SIGN PILLOW

Yesterday I promised to show you a housewarming gift I've been working on.  So here's a very short little tutorial on how to make a burlap subway sign pillow, perfect for welcoming someone to a new community - along with a link to Gillyflower Cottage just in case you don't want to make it yourself!

Start with fabric paint - especially if you want the pillow to be washable.  I mixed mine with a little white acrylic to tone down the black a bit.

 A small nickel size blob of each color was a just right for two pillows.

Mix it up until you get the color you want.

Meanwhile, it's a good idea to use some painters tape so your letters line up in a straight line.  Here I prepped for two pillows running the city name down the middle.

 I used a 2 1/2" letter stencil.

 A 4" linen strip was sewn to the top of the pillow creating a finished size of approximately 12" by 28".

Use a light hand while stenciling if you want the pillow and name to have a time-worn look.

 After sewing around the edges of the pillow (right sides together), it is reversed, stuffed with fiberfill, and then decoratively whip stitched with one ply twine.

I made two pillows - one as a gift and one to put in my shop.  If you're interested in a subway sign pillow with your city (or family) name, it is available for purchase at my Etsy shop, Gillyflower Cottage.

Now to wrap up this one and hand deliver it to our new Wauwatosa resident - on her BIRTHDAY!

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