I saw an article in “Make it Yourself” magazine (which is SO fun) about a Christmas tree canvas.  I really liked the idea but didn’t want to go buy a canvas.  I decided I would take the same idea and make a little holiday pillow instead.   Here’s how I did it!

Take two pieces of fabric and cut them to the approximate size that you want the pillow to be.  I did about 15 inches wide by 20 inches tall.  I am not big on measuring but these two pieces need to be the same size.  Iron them really well 🙂
Take lots of green scraps in about three or four different patterns or solids.  Cut them into strips that are two inches tall by about 8 inches long.  Cut one piece of fabric (I chose black) for the trunk.
I cut that piece 3 inches by 3 inches because I wanted it to be taller than the other 2 inch strips.
Cut one of your large pieces of fabric into strips with the bottom strip being 3 inches tall and all of the other strips being 2 inches tall.  Then lay the strips of green on top of the fabric creating a tree-like shape on the left side.  Just stagger them all the way to the top.  Pin them in place and trim the excess white fabric away from underneath.
Then take the trimmed away strips of fabric and lay them on the right side of the tree to create a tree shape.
Cut the excess green away and then pin the fabric together on the right side to get ready to sew.
Here we are all pinned and ready to sew.  Stitch each strip together.   But don’t stitch the strips to each other just yet.  I used the 1/4 inch as my guide.
Iron all of the strips making sure that all of the seams are ironed toward the green fabric otherwise you will be able to see them later.
Take the strips to the cutting board and trim off all of the excess fabric so that you have a rectangle again.
Stitch all of the strips together so that you have your front piece of the pillow.   Lay the front piece onto your back piece of fabric.  Some trimming might have to be done.  My pillow ended up being smaller than I thought but I still love it.  Turn the “right” side of your pillow in and sew around all of the edges, leaving a little gap for the stuffing.
Turn the pillow right side out, iron it one more time, and stuff it with fiber fill.  Stitch all the way around the edges again to close it up and you’re done!
This was such a fun and cheap project. I made it while watching the Sound of Music Live, which was also super fun!   It would be cute to add buttons for ornaments too!
Here it is on my fireplace!
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