Fabric-fun Pillows Made from Children's Artwork

Materials:

• heavy canvas-type cloth
• good-quality fabric paints
• brushes
• fabric for backing
• needle and pillow stuffing

Instructions:

Children should first think of a shape and pencil it onto their fabric. Now, they can fabric paint to make their picture (a car, a train, a person) come alive. Let the kids go with it, mistakes can easily be touched up afterward with help from a guardian.

Let the paint dry well, then cut the shape out.

Make a backing for the pillow by tracing the shape with colorful fabric (or they can paint the reverse of the front image)

Now sew the two pieces together back to back and turn inside out. Stuff this with old fabric scraps (never throw those out...) and stitch the hole.

Now you have a personalized pillow that looks great on a bed or can be used as a gift!

This was done by a 6-year old and came out very nicely with a little help using the needle and thread. His sister made a little doll.

By Maura Hurley from New York, NY