Beach Pillow

It's cold and rainy today and I have the sniffles. (still smocking) I miss the warmer weather and the beach. Don't get me wrong, I am not a summer gal. I don't like it when the Carolina heat is more humid than the inside of a dog's mouth. It's just that a few weeks back we had some nice days. I went to the beach to collect shells the other day. It was a little chilly, which was great because hardly anyone was there. I said a prayer to the Lord that I would find a sand dollar. Then, there was a perfect sand dollar lying there in the sand for me. I love it when He answers quickly.

I wanted a decorative pillow for my slipcovered couch. So, I cut out stamps of ocean animals and shells. The idea came from Genine's Art Blog (check it out on the right side, "blogs I like", she has a tutorial). I mixed acrylics with a fabric paint medium and painted it on the stamps. I used some fabrics from shirts and jeans and cut out circles to stamp. Then, I sprayed a fabric adhesive onto the back of the circles so they would stay in place when sewn. My machine has decorative stitches but a regular zig zag or would work, just switch thread colors to add interest. A watercolor I had done became central to a collage that I scanned and printed onto fabric. An old hymn, "Sail On", is in the lower left corner. The little blue net under the crab I crocheted.

There are several ways to print onto fabric and there are tutorials on line for making your own transfer medium. I just used sheets of printer fabric I bought from Hancock's at 50% off. I stitched the fabric print on the canvas and placed the fabric circles randomly around.

The collage is here for you to use. you can print it onto fabric, or paper

to use as you like. (An apron, table runner, seaside bag are some other ideas). Please, do not post it on your site, without my permission. Links, though are welcome.