Kid Craft: Valentine's Pillow

Have you ever gotten in over your head when planning a school holiday party? Me too. 2 years ago, I had this fabulous idea that I should help those cute little Kindergarteners in Bella's class learn about service. My idea was simple. Sew pillows. Bring pillows to class party ~ unstuffed and undecorated. Let the kiddos use fabric paint to decorate and then stuff the pillows. Take home to sew up the little opening {luckily an awesome mom in B's class did that part for me} then meet up with the class on a Saturday at the local hospital to give to the children who would be spending their Valentine's Day there.
It really ended up being a great experience...the kids were soooo excited to share a little love with sick & injured children, but I may have grossly underestimated the time it would take me {a novice seamstress at best} to sew enough pillows for everyone in Bella's class.
Here we are, two years later...and my girls decided they wanted to make some of those pillows for themselves. I gathered some fabric scraps we had on hand, and we went to work. 1. Cut out a heart shape in 2 layers of your main fabric. Cut a smaller heart in your mid fabric, and yet a smaller heart out of your white fabric.

2. Use a straight stitch, about half an inch from the edge of the mid heart to sew it to one layer of your main fabric. Snip 1/4" wide strips into the edge of that mid fabric, but don't cut into your stitching. Sew the white heart onto the mid fabric with a zig-zag stitch. Place right sides of the main fabric together, and using a straight stitch, sew them together, being sure to leave an opening large enough for your kiddo's hand to reach through.

3. Get out the fabric markers, and let them add their very own design to the white fabric. This, of course, is their favorite part! {remember to heat set their design afterwards if your markers require that.}

4. Let them stuff the pillow with batting.

5. Hand stitch the little opening closed.

6. And there you have it. A simple, quick, and fun Valentine's project for you and the little ones {and maybe, just maybe, if you are a faster seamstress than me, for the 21 other kids in your little ones' class.} Enjoy!

Want more Valentine's Party Ideas? Check out my new school blog!