bird ring pillow

Two of my good friends are getting married this weekend and I was asked to make make them a ring pillow for the ceremony. They knew they wanted a bird and that was about it. After doing a little research I actually ended up using one of my onesie applique patterns.

I was able to get material from a bridesmaid dress that needed to be altered so I know the bird and pillow backing matches everything in the wedding perfectly. The materials for this are an interesting mix of expensive (REAL duponi silk) and eco-cheep (eco felt and batting from an old Ikea pillow). Because I was able to get the material for the bird and pillow backing for free the entire pillow cost less than $5 to make. How is that possible?
(the materials)
Lets break it down:
3 pieces of eco-felt .25 cents each
pillow batting (free from old pillow)
blue silk duponi (free from dress alteration)
1 roll ribbon .50 cents
1 square foot muslin about .50 cents
Real ivory silk duponi-a discontinued special order sample from back in the red tag area $1.50
1 sheet iron on fusible webbing .75 cents.

to make sure everything was nice and stable I bounded a piece of muslin to the Ivory duponi and a piece of eco-felt to the blue duponi that is being used for the bird

so then I used my pattern (cut from a cereal box) to cut out the bird, the branch and the leaves
and pinned it all to the ivory duponi (why does blogger do this to photos?)
and then I appliqued by hand. Yes by hand. I do all my quilting and sewing applique work by hand. I don't believe in using a machine to applique although I know how to. Yes I can make very nice little stitches very rapidly by now. Here is a look at the back side of my applique work.

not to badmouth my sewing machine because it is one of my most prized possessions and I don't let ANYONE use it. I have a less expensive teaching machine for friends who are learning to sew.
from this point on its pretty standard pillow making. I think it ended up being about 9"x9"... a little less when stuffed. I have to say the duponi and the extra layer of muslin makes a big difference for making something that turns out professional and sturdy.
as is I think this is a cute little pillow and I'm happy how it turned out. I like having a variety of textures in my work and the felt and duponi is a nice mix.
But it is a ring pillow so I sewed on a little ribbon at the bird's beak and used my wedding and engagement ring (2+ years later and I still need to get them joined!) for the photo.

I'm quite happy with the end result and hopefully they will remove the ribbon and keep the little pillow as a handmade reminder of their wedding for years to come.