"Nostalgic" Christmas pillow!

I've noticed a "nostalgic" theme in some of the holiday decor I've come across this season.

 {wood base snow globe, Target.com}

 {embroidered pillow, potterybarn.com}

 {embroidered pillow, potterybarn.com}

 {glass ornament, potterybarn.com}

{embroidered pillow, potterybarn.com}

{felted animals and pillow, target.com}

{yule mugs, crateandbarrel.com}

It reminds me of A Christmas Story meets Norman Rockwell.  And frankly, anything that reminds me of Scut Farkus or a frozen flag pole is welcome in my home.

So, imagine my delight when I came across a cute little hand towel with this "nostalgic" image printed on the front.

I found it at TJ Maxx for $2.99.

And of course, you know what I had to make out of it...

The most awesome Christmas pillow ever.  Bam!

I threw on some red pom pom's.

And made a coordinating red and green plaid pillow out of two, cloth napkins {because you know how much I love plaid}.

And we were set...it was a set...of pillows.

And you can find yourself the lucky owner of this fabulous set of pillows should you enter my giveaway and win.  Don't forget the free Kensie product {of your choosing} that you will win as well.  My giveaway ends tonight so hurry up and enter.

I know I said I would announce the winner on Wednesday, but I've decided to announce it Tuesday...tomorrow, instead.  So, stay tuned.

Pillow Talk

Let it be known that I love toss pillows.  

I'll save you all the lengthy dissertation on how obsessive personalities run in my family and how I tend to get fixated on certain things...uh hum, David Beckham anyone?

Anyway, I just love accent pillows.  I especially love having extras on hand that I can pull from when I am feeling the need to switch things up.

That all said, I thought I would share one of my favorite tips for making pillows...cloth napkins {and kitchen towels}.

Not only are napkins {and towels} the perfect, pre-formed size for accent pillows, they also tend to offer a wide variety of interesting patterns and colors.  Oh!  And they are also really cheap.  Cha-ching.

I recently came across this brightly colored dish towel.  Only I didn't see a dish towel, I saw the perfect accent pillow for my bed.

There was no cutting and no hemming involved...just sewing four straight lines {and if you don't sew, there are all sorts of liquid stitch and heat activated options you could try}.  What could be easier than that?

Voila!  A beautiful, bright and one of a kind pillow that took all of fifteen minutes to make {probably less if I wasn't using the world's crappiest sewing maching}.

And for your inspiration...

I saw these napkins at West Elm, a set of four for $20.  That works out to be $10 per pillow, or you could always add a contrasting color to the back of each and make four pillows for a little over $5 a piece.  Ba-Bam!

 I think I love the dark pink best.

And who doesn't love a playful polka dot...especially those of the "ikat-y" variety?

These napkins, also from West Elm retail at between $16-20 for a set of four.

I'll take a set in blue, thank you!

I love this geometric pattern...especially the green...and the black...and the tan.

$16 for a set of four at West Elm.

Can you tell I love West Elm...remember the little "fixation" bit I talked about at the beginning of the post?

Anyway, next time you find yourself in the market for some new throw pillows, maybe you will consider passing up the premade ones and will consider making some of your own.  I promise you will be the envy of the PTA.  In fact, your popularity might propel right into the president's seat.  Is that a good thing?  I don't know.  But at least you'll have some totally rad pillows to admire {and rest/bang your head on} while you plan out a year's worth of activities.

You're welcome!