Second Anniversary . . . Cotton

My daughter and son in law's second wedding anniversary is around the corner on July 9th.  I started looking into what gifts I could make for them very early so I would have the time I needed to get it done.  Since the second anniversary traditional gift is cotton, I knew I could make a counted cross stitch project and that would fit the bill nicely.  It takes a while to figure out what to do because I have made and bought things for them to hang up and this time I felt I should do something different.  They just got their new bedroom set a couple of months ago which gave me the idea of making decorative pillows with an "accent" color that would pop with their gray walls and decor.  But, I'm not so sure I can make pillows because I do not sew, so this would be a challenge.  So far I started with this picture of them that I wanted to turn into a "caricature" cross stitch. Here is their picture and my interpretation.

I need to add some red to this one to make it pop!  Garnet Red is the rich accent color I chose and, if they don't like it, they can just take it out for Valentine's Day and their anniversary!  The second pillow needed to have more red, so I chose a heart with two love birds.  This is how far I have gotten with that:

I also need to get some red and gray material, and pillow forms to complete this project.  Then I have to figure out how to center my designs and sew them to the pillow.  Hmmmm. It just dawned on me that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. However, I am too deep into it now to turn back.

Finally, my daughter must have loved the turquoise blanket I made for their first anniversary because she hinted she would like one for her bedroom to throw across the bed.  I already bought the yarn, garnet red and light gray, for this project.  Here is last year's aran hearts blanket which I will make again in new colors.  I hope this year's blanket turns out as nice or better.

First Anniversary throw for living room.

Fast Forward two months later . . . this is how far I have gotten:

A Quilled Card

Two Cross Stitch pictures for the centers of the pillows 

edged in gray double bias tape.

These are "Cotton" for traditional second anniversary.

<3 A gorgeous Aran Hearts Blanket <3

Two pillows forms still to be covered in red

and I do not sew or have a machine!

I have to watch some youtube videos and see if I can accomplish what is in my mind's eye. Wish me luck! I need to learn how to cover the pillows and center the design in the middle so it looks somewhat professional.  Several videos later I stopped everything that I was doing, took out the material, and cut it to the size recommended for my 16 inch pillow forms. Then I sewed the cross stitch designs on the center of the two panels.  Finally, I got to work on sewing the cover by hand.  This is the final result!

And voila!  I did it! I love they way they turned out.

I hope they will love it too.

<3 Happy 2nd Anniversary Melissa and Matt <3