Vacation memento pillow

Hands-on time: Less than two hours.
Skill: Moderate (basic sewing skills required).
Project cost: Less than $20.

Materials and Tools

• Hawaiian-print fabric to make a cover for a 55-cm-square pillow
• 1 pillow, 55 cm square
• Plastic (4 gauge, blue backing) to make one pillow band (30 by 104 cm) and two picture pockets (two pieces 14 by 19 cm and two pieces 15 by 7.5 cm)
• Tape measure
• Fabric scissors and pinking shears
• Braided jute trimming, two pieces 1.9 by 104 cm
• All-purpose thread
• Sewing-machine needle to sew plastic (Size 12 or 14 recommended)
• Sewing machine
• Disappearing fabric marker
• Two vacation picture printouts on quality photo paper, 12-by-17 cm rectangle and 6-cm-diameter circle
• Rotary circle cutter (optional)
• Preserve-It by Krylon
• White rub-on lettering (the kind used for scrapbooks)
• Beach sand, a few small seashells
• Turquoise rickrack trimming
• Green felt for palm leaves: two small (23 by 7.5 cm ), four large (33 by 10 cm)
• Two two-hole coconut-shell buttons 1.6 cm
• A sewing needle

Summer vacation pictures offer a wonderful theme for a scrapbook-style memory pillow. Brightly coloured Hawaiian print provides the backdrop for the clear plastic pillow band that showcases your vacation pictures.

Basic pillow cover: Wash, dry and iron the Hawaiian-print fabric. Cut two squares about 4 cm larger than the pillow, place printed sides together and use a sewing machine to stitch the edges (2 cm seam allowance), leaving a 30-cm opening along one edge. Turn right-side out, insert pillow and slipstitch the opening by hand.

Plastic pillow band: Sew the braided jute trimming to the long edges of the 30 by 104 cm pillow band. Sew the two plastic pockets (see below for instructions) in place. Place right sides together to sew the short edge closed and turn right-side out.

Preparing the pictures: Cut one vacation photo into a 12-by-17-cm rectangle and the other into a 6-cm-diameter circle. A rotary cutter will cut a perfect circle. If desired, use pinking shears to cut a fancy edge around the photos. To preserve the appearance of your pictures, spray them with a light coat of Preserve-It by Krylon. Add a fun caption using white rub-on lettering, or add text to the picture before printing it out.

Plastic picture pockets: Cut two pieces of plastic about 2 cm larger than the size of your pictures. Use pinking shears, if you wish. Sandwich both pictures between the two pieces of plastic. Machine sew the pieces together (1.3 cm from the edge). When sewing the plastic together, there is no need to pull it; simply let it glide under the foot on your sewing machine. Using a disappearing marker, mark the location of this pocket on the pillow band, approximately 5 cm from the centre top edge.

Plastic beach-theme pocket: Cut two pieces of plastic 15 by 7.5 cm, and sew three sides together. Put beach sand and a few shells inside the pocket, and then sew to close. Position this pocket so it is in the centre of the pillow band and below the picture pocket. Sew the turquoise rickrack trimming around the edges.

Felt palm-tree accents: Cut the palm tree leaves in the dimensions noted above using pinking shears. Make two groups of two large leaves with a small leaf in the middle. Place the leaves on either side of the plastic band and hand sew onto the braided jute, topping with a coconut-shell button.