Someone else’s craft!  My non-blogging friend Jane made these fantastic beaded cushions for each of her three girls.

We saw a similar cushion in a shop some time ago.  Jane got inspired, and designed her own!  She used Word to write each name in a large font (part of the challenge was choosing the best font) and printed it off, then traced each letter onto white cotton, leaving plenty of room around each one to applique it later.  She used a mixture of five bead colours and sewed each bead individually onto each letter.  Here’s a close-up:

Once all the beads were embroidered on, she cut each letter out and appliqued it onto the pink PVC by gluing them into place then carefully stitching the base fabric to the PVC.  The next step was to attach the cord trim around the outside, then sew the front and back together.  Turning them to the right side was a challenge, but she managed it!  The opening was slip-stitched closed after stuffing with fibrefill.  It is difficult to see in these photos but the cushions are actually pale pink, the twisted cord trim is light purple, and the beads are a mixture of pink, blue, purple and metallic.

Jane’s girls adore their cushions, quite understandably, and my daughter is pestering me (to the point of tantrum) to make one for her.

Well done Jane!  I think that you’ve done a brilliant job (especially considering that the bead embroidery alone was about two hours per letter).  You should be very proud!