Category: Projects

Thoughtfulness through Presentation

Helpfulness of Habit, Pretty Packages

As I’ve mentioned before , I’m re-developing the habit of thoughtfulness.

Time and budget constraints often prevent us from giving gifts, so I’m training myself to give smaller, simpler things.  I’ve even used my brownies a lot lately as gifts.   I watch for little things on sale that I can use as gifts or which can be used to package gifts in.

Wrapping a gift with someone special in mind can be a creative and happy experience.  It’s fun to rummage through bits of paper or ribbon and find ways to use them.


For President’s Day I gave away a couple copies of this amazing book .  I wanted the package to be patriotic and a bit more masculine in feel.  Lincoln and fluff just don’t go together in my mind.  For the first I used a simple red wrapping paper, followed by a rich blue raffia wrapped and criss-crossed around the book several times.  A patriotic tag tucked in and it was just right.


The second book I wrapped in the same wrapping paper.  I embellished the package with some navy tulle and burlap ribbon.


I tied a simple knot in the ribbons before taping them to the package.  I really like how it looked.  A tea-stained tag was hung on a Christmas ornament hook, which I then hooked to the ribbon.


I enjoy this process so much I would love to wrap a gift every day.  That would be a fun New Year’s resolution, wouldn’t it?  To give a gift every day of the year.  I love the creative experience of preparing the package and the feeling of anticipation it gives me to present it to the recipient.

Who doesn’t like a pretty package?  Have you given a beautiful package lately?

Have a great day!
Hopeful Homemaker

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It’s a Party! Pillow

Quilting and Sewing



When I finished this pillow I was giddy with excitement.

I actually had an idea that I’ve never seen before, executed it, and it turned out as cute as I pictured!

I can’t remember the last time that happened.


I made a bunch of miniature bunting flags, turned them right side out, and arranged them on my current favorite Kona solid:  ash.


White rick rack finishes it all off.  I love the way the colors look against the gray, and I can’t stop looking at how all the little flags hang on the pillow.  So cute.


The inspiration for this pillow came from this project .  With three little girls sharing the room, I’m trying to make some pillows that reflect each girl’s age, tastes, and how I feel about them.  This pillow is for my three year old.  She’s just a precious little thing, and at such a perfect age, she makes me want to celebrate every day.  I am so happy to be her mom,  so she gets a party pillow.


I was thinking what a cute pillow this would be for a nursery.  You could embroider the baby’s name and birth statistics in the top right corner of the pillow.  It would be a really cute gift.

As usual, I made this pillow with a zipper for easy washing and easy changing.


Like I said, I’m giddy about how cute it is.  And it looks great next to the other pillow I made, also.


Two down, lots more ideas to come.  We’ll see how much time I can find to experiment.  Meanwhile, we’ve got a happy three year old!

Jennifer Pillow submitted here .

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Candy Swirl Pillow

Quilting and Sewing

I’ve been promising myself time to sew for weeks, but have deferred it over and over again for housework.  After a frustrating experience last night I went to my sewing table not caring a whole lot about what the house looked like.

And this is what I made.


I’m calling it the candy swirl pillow because it reminds me a little of a huge lollipop, all wrapped up with bright colors.


This was a great scrap project.  I used lots of little strips of fabric from my scrap bin.  They’re sewn in a spiral on a natural linen pillow top.  The swirl finishes at just over 1/4 inch wide.


For the backing I used a piece of my favorite print from Pillow & Maxfield’s Whimsy collection.  I fell in love with this collection when I was making this baby quilt and later with this one.
I think it works well with the whimsical spiral on the front and with the general color scheme as well.


As usual, I inserted a zipper in the bottom seam because I hate to store pillows.  A few years ago I invested in some high quality down pillow forms so I simply unzip and change them whenever I want.


I love the texture in this pillow; the linen top with cotton back.  When I sewed the thin strip on to make the swirl I sewed only down one edge, so there’s a little lip there that also adds dimension.


The only problem is where to put it!  It looks great in every place I’ve tried.  I’m super-pleased with the outcome.  It really wasn’t difficult to make, although the ironing and pinning to some time.  If you’d like a tutorial, shout it out and I’ll post one.


Do you see the cute little gray number in back?  I made that, too.  It’s up next .

Hopeful Homemaker

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