Scrappy Swap Package

Today I will show you the rest of the package I sent to my partner in the Scrap Happy Swap on Craftster.

I wanted to get her color palette just right.  I didn't have enough yardage of the right colors in my stash, so I carefully examined the picture I had of her living room colors, and pulled a few fabrics from my stash that seemed just right.  Then I went to Joann's and spent a long time pulling bolts of fabric from the shelves and comparing them to my swatches.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of fabrics that would work, and I bought them all!  I got half-yards of everything except the two main blue fabrics that I used on the pillows (I got a yard of each of those, and used them all up!).  But first, the mug rug.  This is the front:

...and this is the back.  I have to say that I like the back better than the front!  I think the front is too busy, and you lose the circles with all the other fabrics competing for attention.  That's how it is sometimes when you are making something for the first time using an idea from your imagination; this time it didn't come out quite as great as I had hoped it would!

These pillow covers, on the other hand, exceeded my expectations!  They are large (17.5" square), made to fit on the pillow forms she was already using on her sofa.  This first one, with circles, was inspired by some quilts and fabrics I saw on her Pinterest.

I wanted to make the second pillow different from the first, but with a design that related to the first one, so I made it with these leaf shapes.  I spent a lot of time constructing both pillows carefully, with finished seams and a velcro closure on the back.  The circles and leaves were affixed with Heat n Bond lite, then I sewed around the edges to secure them.

I also made her one of my Scrappy Fabric Bracelets, (click on that for the tutorial) using one of her favorite phrases.  I went a little overboard crafting for her--and she went overboard for me too--so we've decided to request each other as partners in a future swap, because there are lots more things we would like to make for each other!