Recently, I was contacted via Etsy and asked to do a bird cushion commission for lady called Erin in Australia. The cushions were a surprise for her husband to be on their wedding night.
Erin sent over a few photos of her pet birds from which I made initial drawings; Teddy the budgie and Bubba the lovebird (as pictured on the cushions above). Flattered by the message (and Erin's lovely comments!), I willingly accepted and got straight to work.
Making these cute budgie and lovebird cushions . . .
I started by drawing from the photos sent over. I don't trace things; I always draw by eye. My drawings are unique. They are not intended to be 100% accurate, otherwise there'd be no art . . . might as well take a photo.
So, once I had 4x drawings completed, I sent them over to my very complementary client in Australia. Erin approved and loved all the drawings! Delighted, I set to work with her favourite ones.
Once the drawings had been tidied up on the computer, I sent them to the printers and waited patiently for a week. I always ensure my fabric is printed in the UK, as I feel printing is an important part of the making process, as well as assembling the cushions myself by hand.
After a week, the printed fabric arrived and I was very excited to get going on assembling the bird cushions. We agreed a traditional colour scheme of white and navy blue, so I purchased the necessary materials and got to work.
First the navy blue piping was made, then the printed cushion face, piping and navy blue back were assembled. The cushions have a zip so it's easy to add a cushion filler and clean the cover when needed.
After the paperwork was sorted, the bird cushions were posted by tracked delivery and winged their way to Australia.
Erin's 5-star review on Etsy
Erin was delighted to receive these handmade cushions and left a lovely review on my Etsy shop. She also kindly sent over a few pictures and gave permission for this little blog - Thank you Erin!
"Jenny was amazing to work with! She created a custom pair of pillows with gorgeous drawings of our beloved birds. She got them to me in Australia at lightning speed and even included a little gift. They are gorgeous and beautifully made. Can't wait to surprise my fiancé with them after our wedding in 2 weeks! Will post pics soon. Thank you soooo much Jenny- would not hesitate to recommend you!"
See Erin's lovely review of the lovebird and budgie cushions on the Jenny K Home Etsy shop.