A Wish Granted

One of the observances I have made over the years with my children is how important the little things in life are to them. A phone call on their birthday, a letter in the mail, or a surprise package all make them feel so special. It isn't the monetary value of the item, it is the fact that someone remembered them. So a goal of mine this year is to do more "surprises" not only for my own kids but for all the special people in my life.

When my sister and I were talking about Christmas, she told me she was having an impossible time fulfilling her oldest son's only wish. I came up with an idea to help and made him this pillow.

You see, her six year old son is obsessed with stop lights. He dressed up as a stop light for Halloween (complete with working lights) and wants nothing more than a stop light for Christmas. As my sister can attest to, not the easiest thing for a parent to find.

It makes me so happy that I was able to grant him his Christmas wish. We will be seeing him over the Christmas holiday and I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets his pillow.

To make a pillow like this for the "stop light lover" in your family you will need a pillow form, duck cloth, felt, scissors, needle and thread. Cut two pieces of duck cloth the same size as your pillow form. Using black felt, cut out a rectangle for the back of the stop light. Cut one circle (all the same size) from red, yellow and green felt. (A cup or small plate works great for a circle template.) Sew the three circles by hand to the black felt. Pin and sew stop light on to duck cloth.Using a program like Word, print off the words "stop", "slow", and "go" onto a piece of paper. (I used Gil San Ultra bold in size 110). Cut out each letter from the paper to form a letter pattern. Pin paper letters to black felt and cut around. Pin and sew letters to pillow front.

Pin right sides of pillow front and pillow back together, matching up corners. Sew around edge using a 1/2" seam allowance and leaving an opening several inches long along one side. Turn pillow right side out through opening. Insert pillow form. Pin opening closed and sew.