Christmas Throw Pillows

The holiday season is a time for spreading joy and creating a festive atmosphere in our homes. One delightful way to achieve this is by incorporating Christmas throw pillows into your home decor. These beautifully designed pillows not only add a touch of seasonal cheer but also offer comfort and style. In this blog post, we will explore the reasons why Christmas throw pillows are an excellent choice for making your home decor more festive during the holiday season.

Christmas throw pillows come in a variety of designs and colours, allowing you to infuse your living space with the spirit of the season. The featured throw pillows from Zazzle offer a perfect combination of traditional and whimsical designs. By strategically placing them on your couch, chairs, or beds, you can transform any room into a festive retreat.

Showcasing Some Zazzle Throw Pillows

The following Christmas cushions showcase a few of my own designs that I hope you and your guests will love.

Which is your favourite design?

The first Christmas throw pillow that we are showcasing features Santa and Rudolph. This design radiates happiness and you can almost feel their special relationship. It also features the words Happy Holidays and is set on a beautiful green background.

Christmas throw pillow featuring Santa and Rudolph, very festive as part of your Christmas decor
Purchase this throw pillow on Zazzle

The next Christmas throw pillow or cushion that we are going to look at is of a vintage design. This pillow takes you back in time with a vintage-style image of children building a snowman. I love the swirl effect that is a feature of this design as well.

vintage style Christmas throw pillow featuring a snowman and three children adding the finishing touches to him
Buy this Christmas throw pillow from Zazzle

The third throw pillow that we’re showcasing creates an elegant holiday vibe with it’s “A Very Merry Christmas” words forming the outline of a Christmas tree. It’s a simple design that has proven to be quite a popular design in past Christmases.

A simple and elegant Christmas throw pillow to add to your festive home decor
Buy this throw pillow on Zazzle

Finally, the fourth throw pillow depicts some adorable snowmen and I must admit I love these, especially the little snow dog.

Gorgeous Christmas throw pillow featuring snowmen. A snowman couple with an adorable snow dog and a snowman mother and child.
Buy this throw pillow on Zazzle

Whichever of these designs you choose they will lend a distinctive charm to your decor, making your home truly stand out.

Crafted from high-quality Simplex knit fabric, these throw pillows offer both comfort and durability. The 100% polyester material ensures a soft and wrinkle-free surface, while the hidden zipper enclosure adds a seamless touch. The synthetic-filled insert provides a plush and supportive feel, ensuring long-lasting comfort. What’s more, these pillows are machine, washable, making them practical for everyday use during the holiday season. Rest assured that your Christmas throw pillows will maintain their vibrant colours and charm for years to come.

The 16″ x 16″ size of these throw pillows makes them versatile and easy to integrate into your existing home decor. Whether you want to add a festive touch to your living room, bedroom, or even a cozy reading nook, these pillows are perfect for any space. The heavyweight stretch material enhances colour definition, allowing the pillows to seamlessly complement your furniture. Moreover, the USA-made quality ensures that these pillows meet the highest standards, offering you peace of mind and a truly exceptional product.

Why Use Christmas Throw Pillows?

Christmas throw pillows provide an excellent way to make your home decor more festive during the holiday season. With their vibrant colours, unique designs and high-quality craftsmanship, these pillows effortlessly elevate the ambiance of any room. From the delightful Santa and Rudolph duo to the vintage snowman-building children, each design tells a story and sparks joy. So, this Christmas, embrace the spirit of the season and transform your home into a winter wonderland with these beautiful throw pillows.

Red Gothic Face Mask

As I have said in a previous post I love using images from the public domain and adapting them to create products that that is how I ended up creating this face mask.

Sytylized Gothic Lady in Red

This design was a lot of fun to come up with. As you can imagine right now a lot of people are wearing face masks and when I realized that you could design them on Redbubble I started thinking of what kind of design would be fun.

I do love some of the Gothic lady images that I come across and so I had a look on Pixabay to see if they had any that I could play around with until I was happy with the look. I really wasn’t expecting to come up with the design above as I had something completely different in mind, however when I saw this image …

DarkWorkX on Pixabay

Although I loved the image above I did want a little colour for a face mask. Usually when I think Gothic and colour I try and add purple, but looking at her red eyes I thought that would be a great colour to bring out.

I added some different effects to the background which when first added really didn’t give me the look I wanted, but after a few tweeks I was happier.

I hadn’t planned on changing the colour of her eye liner on one eye and her hair, to be honest my finger slipped! When that happens, however, it can just produce a look you didn’t even know you were after.

It still has a Gothic feel to the design, but it as more life in my opinion. Now we just have to see if it ends up being liked by anyone else! So far I’ve had a lot of positive comments from artistic friends of mine.

Dalmatian Greeting Card – Black & White with a Splash of Colour!

Dalmatian Greeting Card
Dalmatian Greeting Card on Zazzle

It’s been a while since I created a new design so I thought I would share how I created this fun dalmatian greeting card with you.

I love images that are black and white with a little splash of colour and have created a few of them in the past myself.

As soon as I saw the original photo of this dalmatian with it’s tongue out I just knew I wanted to make the whole image black and white except the tongue.

Now there are a few ways in which you can do this, but I’m just going to show you the super easy way and all you need is photoshop!

Here is the original photo –

Dalmatian photo

As you can see this dalmatian is actually more brown, but is on a black background.   So first I opened it up on photoshop, next I created a duplicate image.

I simply when to the Enhance menu and selected convert to black and white (making sure I was on the duplicate image).  There are a lot of other ways to do it, but I’m all for easy (and there weren’t a lot of fiddly parts to the photograph).

Next I simply selected the eraser and used it on the tongue (again making sure I was on the duplicate image) – I made the image bigger and adjusted the size of the brush to keep the lines straight.

It really was that simple and here is the result –

 

Have you ever created a black and white with a splash of color design before? If not then why not have a bit of fun and try it on some of your photographs.

NOTE: If you purchase anything from one of these links I may receive a commission and perform a happy dance in my computer chair! Full details here.

Using Public Domain Images to Create Your Own Designs

I love to use images available through Creative Commons to create some of my own designs.  You do need to check the license and make sure that they are able to be modified and used without attribution for use on a POD product.

One site that is great for this is Pixabay and I do use them quite a lot.  I have a couple  of Zazzle stores that are entirely created using this sort of designs.  An example is this Christmas card –

 

I took an image of a bull terrier and added an image of a Santa hat to the dog, popped them both on a bright background and added text. I loved the result, it was also fun trying the different Santa hat images that were available to get just the right one.

Another example of this can be found on an older post of mine where I tell you how I created my Catherine Parr Greeting Card.

The fun thing about Zazzle is that you can have a number of different stores and do different things in them ie have one based on your own photography, one based on your own artwork, one based on remixed creative commons work, one based on geometric or text based designs, the ideas are endless.

Here’s a look at a couple of my stores and how they differ –

Beachcombing – based on my own photography

Christmas Holidays – based on using creative commons images

Zazzle does well with all kinds of designs, but to be honest a lot of the remixed creative commons designs do outsell a lot of my own art/photography (except for 3 of my bestsellers that is).

I think the key to success if finding your own angle and making sure that you do make changes to the design, otherwise you’re competing with thousands of other identical designs because you didn’t create this idea!

 

NOTE: If you purchase anything from one of these links I may receive a commission and perform a happy dance in my computer chair! Full details here.

Christmas Candy Tins

Christmas mint tinsZazzle introduced candy tins a few years back with the idea of using them as wedding favors, but I think they’re perfect for the holidays.  There’s just something special about Christmas Candy Tins.

The tins come in a few different shapes these days, but the inside is still your choice of mint or jelly beans and the idea is great.

Christmas Mint Tins

I think I love the idea because my great uncle used to always carry a little tin of mints around with him and sometimes I’d get to have one!  Even these days I usually have some mints in my bag so a little tin is a great idea.

A Christmas themed candy tin for my mints would be a great gift idea for myself and I’ve even designed a few that I would enjoy using –

 Fun Snowman Candy Tin Vintage Winter Scene Candy Tin Cute Snowman Candy Tin Christmas Tree Candy Tin Santa Candy Tin Cute Snowman Candy Tin

Personalized Candy Mint Tins

These candy tins are made by Zazzle which means that they can be personalized – you can get monogrammed tins, tins with people’s own names on them, photos, the ideas are endless.

These tins are some of the cool ones that are set up to be personalized (they’re not my designs, but belong to other talented designers on Zazzle)

 Partridge In A Pear Tree Christmas Holiday Jelly Belly Candy Tin Christmas Tree Thunder_Cove Jelly Belly Candy Tins Custom Cute Folk Art Merry Christmas Wreath Jelly Belly Tins Joy to The World Christmas Typography Music Notes Candy Tin Season’s Greetings Christmas Trees & Bird Holiday Jelly Belly Candy Tins Nutcrackers group on red jelly belly candy tins

Christmas Candy Tins

These little tins are great to add to a gift basket or to pop into a Christmas hamper.  They also make fun stocking fillers.

If you have a business they are also a great idea to give to your clients.  You can add your business name, or just choose a Christmas design and pop your business card in with the gift.

The tins can be refillable which is what makes them a really useful gift – I know I’m not the only one who keeps some mints in my purse all the time, or am !?

Christmas candy tins
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Description of Candy Tins from Zazzle

This rectangle-shaped tin (0.70 oz) features rounded edges and a brushed metal or white finish for an elegant look and feel. Filled with fresh mints or your favorite Jelly Belly™ flavor, it’s the perfect gift or party favor that everyone will love to take home.

  • Customize the lid with your photos, designs, or text
  • Mints and Jelly Belly™ options available
  • Candy is kosher certified, gluten free, and soy free
  • Candy made in a facility that process peanuts, some flavors may contain coconut
  • Order in bulk and save!

Also available in a range of other shapes

Please Note:   They are small tins – check the measurements with a ruler so you know what to expect, having said that they are the perfect size to throw in a purse or pocket.

Bonus Idea for Christmas Candy Mint Tins

I have seen images where a fellow designer brought a selection popped them inside small organza bags and hung on the Christmas tree as decorations – I think this is a really cool idea.

This idea is especially great for a business as you could hang them on the firm’s Christmas tree as decorations and then hand them out to clients as they come into the office – it’s always great to get a gift when visiting your accountant, solicitor, broker etc.

 

 

NOTE: If you purchase anything from one of these links I may receive a commission and perform a happy dance in my computer chair! Full details here.

Zazzle’s Foil Christmas Cards in Action

Zazzle introduced their foil cards in time for everyone to start designing their Christmas greeting cards on them.   There have been some amazing designs showing up already by the talented designers that use the site.

I had a White Christmas inspired card design that I had planned to put on a card this year and I thought it would work on the foil card nicely as well.

Let it Snow Christmas Card

This is the design on a ‘normal’ Christmas card (above) and here is what it turns out like on a silver foil card….

Let it Snow (Foil) Christmas Card

 

I quite like the foil effect, but I also love the detail that the non-foil card has – which is your favorite?

The foil cards are also available in gold foil as well as silver and to be honest it looks like the gold foil is more popular than the silver.  Here’s one I created quickly (using an image available in creative commons along with a font found on Zazzle) so that you can see what the effect looks like.

Abstract Christmas Tree (Foil) Greeting Card

 

Have you made any foil greeting cards yet and do you have a preference between the silver and gold – personally I like them both and think it’s just a case of which one suits the design best.

Foil Christmas Cards

NOTE: If you purchase anything from one of these links I may receive a commission and perform a happy dance in my computer chair! Full details here.

Morrocan Inspired Designs for Students

This grey-blue and sand colored Morrocan inspired design is perfect for a student and will suit male or females.   With the student in mind I’ve selected a few products from the range which would be perfect.

A Morrocan Inspired Designed Travel Coffee Mug

Getting up late and rushing to lectures is a lot easier with a big hit of caffeine to help you funchtion and that is where this travel coffee mug has you covered!

 Grey Blue & Sand Morrocan Inspired Design Travel Mug

If you’re not into travel mugs then this design is also available on both standard and tall mugs, but seriously you need your coffee to go!

Dishwasher safe, this travel mug is made with insulated stainless steel and comes with a removable lid (that’s from the product description – I’ve never actually seen a travel mug without a removable lid, but there you go!)

Cool Morrocan Designed Bags

Now when it comes to student life you do need to cart a few things around with you.  My teen daughter favors a tote bag to lug her laptop and girly essentials around.

I have, however, seen some of the other students with drawstring bags over their shoulders so I’ve included both styles of bags here for you to peruse.

 Grey Blue & Sand Morrocan Inspired Design Tote Bag Grey Blue & Sand Morrocan Inspired Design Drawstring Bag

Morrocan Inspired Designer Notebooks

When it comes to taking notes in class these days then your phone or laptop is generally the way to go.   Some people still like to go old school with books though.

I would use the spiral notebook below to keep track of assignments and homework due as writing it down makes me more likely to remember something.

A journal is a great thing to keep while you’re a student because they are quite fun to read again as you get older and can be a treasure trove of memories.

 Grey Blue & Sand Morrocan Inspired Design Spiral Notebook Grey Blue & Sand Morrocan Inspired Design Hardcover Journal

Whether you’re a student or not I hope you’ve enjoyed these Morrocan Inspired Designer products.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article – more information can be found on our disclosure page.

A Gothic Valentine’s Day Card

February 14th will be here in less than a month and the sales of red roses will shoot up dramatically and with it the smell of love and romance will fill the air. I must admit I don’t have many Valentine’s Day cards designed as the date just seems to sneak up on me every year! I do have a Gothic Valentine’s Day card which is popular however.

There are lots of unique Valentine’s Day cards available to purchase from Zombie Valentine’s to Geeky Valentines and the ever increasing anti-Valentines. I designed this particular Vintage Gothic Valentine’s Day card back in 2011 as I’d had success with a Gothic Christmas card I designed the year before.

 

I would love to tell you how I designed this particular card, but in this case I actually can’t remember. I do know that I had only recently gotten Photoshop at that time and was doing a lot of ‘experimenting’ as I was learning the program.

I think the vintage look of the image is quite endearing and the ‘greying out’ of the gentleman (in my mind at least) gives the idea that he is the ghost of her true love and their love is still strong. The whole idea of an eternal love is deeply rooted in the Gothic sub-culture so it works well.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article – more information can be found on our disclosure page.

Vintage Winter Snowman Christmas Card

One of the first designs I remember doing using an image from Creative Commons is this vintage winter snowman Christmas card.
Vintage Christmas CardVintage Christmas Card
It shows three gorgeous children building a snowman and I fell in love with the image.

Unfortunately as this picture was in the public domain and able to be used by anyone I knew that there was a chance lots of other people would be using this image on various POD companies. I had to think of what I could do to keep the great image and yet make it a little different from anyone else’s image.

&

I created this image a long time ago with an old computer that had the now discontinued Picture It! program on it. I put a filter onto the image which is what gave the image the round, part circles around the outside. As soon as I saw that I fell in love as in my mind it was like looking through a snowball heading towards this happy group.

It has been a popular design and makes me nostalgic for Microsoft Picture It! as this is the second time I’ve ‘developed’ a popular design with the program – the other one was my Sydney Harbour Bridge design. Having said that I do love my Photoshop so I’d better not complain too much!

Gorgeous vintage winter snowman Christmas card

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article – more information can be found on our disclosure page.

Christmas Is Coming – Get All Your Festive Goodies Now!

Lous Designs Christmas Round Up PostWell it’s nearly December which means the holiday season is well on it’s way to us, so do you have all of your Christmas cards, decorations, gift wrap, fashion and (mustn’t forget) gifts all organized yet?

I thought I’d wrap up a few ideas for you to help with your Christmas list this year.   First up both Redbubble and Zazzle are great places to look for unique gift ideas and Zazzle in particular has lots of items that can easily be personalized.

Let’s look at Christmas cards first, I know that over the last couple of years I’ve received more e-cards or just messages on social media, but there’s something special about sending and receiving actual Christmas cards that’s very special.

Great Christmas Card Ideas

People first started sending Christmas cards in the Victorian times which means that we’re now in the third millennium that have used Christmas cards – the 1800s, the 1900s and the 2000s – that’s some pretty cool history right there!

There has never been more selection for Christmas cards than now so here’s a few ideas for you –

Christmas Cards Collection via Lou165 on Zazzle
Christmas Cards Collection via Zazzle

A great collection of Christmas cards can be found as part of the above Christmas Cards Collection from one of my Zazzle Stores.

If you’re looking for themed Christmas cards then check out these other Christmas card collections…..

Snowman Christmas Cards Collection via Zazzle
Snowman Christmas Cards Collection via Christmas Holidays on Zazzle

Great selection of dog inspired Christmas cards
Dog Inspired Christmas Card Collection via Zazzle

Of course when it comes to Christmas cards (and even Christmas postage stamps) I’ve even got a couple of posts about them myself including –

 

 

Matching vintage Christmas card stationery
Vintage Christmas Cards with Matching Address Labels & Postage Stamps

Cute Pug Christmas Card
Pug Christmas Card by LousDesigns on Zazzle

There are lots of other Christmas cards available at The Cool Card Shop.

Christmas Ornaments

There are so many different Christmas ornaments to choose from that it’s hard to know what theme you want to use to decorate your tree or if, in fact you’d prefer a mishmash of themes.

Let’s have a look at a few ideas……

 

Winter Snowman Christmas Ornament Collection
Snowman Christmas Ornament Collection via Zazzle

 

Fun cartoon inspired animal Christmas ornaments
Fun Christmas Ornaments via Cartoon Animals on Zazzle

Fun collection of fox Christmas ornaments
Fox Christmas Tree Ornaments via Zazzle

There are lots more themed ornaments for you to choose from including some owl ones I featured on a previous post about Owl Christmas Goodies!

Personally I think the  Christmas Tree Ideas website has the best selection of themed Christmas ornaments and for other Christmas tree ideas you could check out their facebook page.

While we’re talking about Christmas decor there’s always soft furnishings to make your home festive –

Christmas Throw Pillows

Selection of Christmas throw pillows for festive home decor
Christmas Throw Pillows via Zazzle

Once the house is sorted it’s time to check out everyone’s Santa list which leads me to ……

Christmas Gift Wrap

There are lots of ideas for Christmas gift wrap from the traditional wrapping paper to a myriad of different wrapping ideas for the holidays.   I’ve come across a really good Pinterest board that has ideas for Christmas Gift Wrapping –

You can also get some great personalized festive wrapping paper from Zazzle which looks awesome.  Of course we’ve also had a post on Dog Christmas Gift Wrap and in case you can’t tell I do have a soft spot for dogs!

Christmas Gift Ideas

As I said before Zazzle and Redbubble are great places to look for gift ideas and another place for a unique gift idea is Etsy, although I do have to warn you Etsy makes time disappear!

If you’re really stuck on ideas then I do have a couple of cool links for you to check out – great gift ideas for women & great gift ideas for men – you can thank me later for those!

Christmas Fashion

If you want to really get in the mood for Christmas then a Christmas outfit is a great idea.   Now not everyone should dress up as Santa or an Elf, but there’s no reason why you can’t wear a Christmas T-Shirt or Hoodie.

Fun Christmas T-Shirts

Warm Christmas Hoodies and Ugly Christmas Sweaters

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Christmas roundup and that you are now organized for the holiday season – Merry Christmas from Lous Designs!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article – more information can be found on our disclosure page.