As you're cuddling up in front of the fire this Valentine's Day with your special someone, add some ambiance to your standard décor with love note cushions. You could use the lyrics from the first dance at your wedding or romantic letters you've exchanged over the years. Cosy up on one pillow or a few tossed along your couch.

You will need:
• Pillow cover or fabric to sew your own
• Needle, thread and pins; sewing machine (optional)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Iron
• Colour printer
• T-shirt transfer paper or iron-on fabric paper
• Pillow form or stuffing
• Zipper (optional)

To make:
Step 1: Choosing your colour scheme
• Selecting your fabric is the first step to this project as your colour scheme will evolve from the hue you wish to use. We used an off-white cotton muslin.
• Cotton works best with T-shirt transfer paper. Read the package instructions before selecting a different type of material.

Step 2: Making your pillow cover
• If you are ironing your image to a pre-made cover, go to Step 3.
• To sew your cover from scratch, decide on a size (we chose 14 x 14 inches) and cut two matching pieces of material, leaving about a ¼ -inch seam allowance.
• Pin each side together, right side facing in.
• Sew around the top, right and left edges, leaving the bottom open for your pillow form. (You may want to sew in a zipper if you plan to wash the cover.)
• Turn your pillow form right-side out.

Step 3: Choose a design and text
• In your photo-editing program, create a new document. We made ours 7 x 7 inches to fit on an 8½ x 11-inch piece of T-shirt transfer paper.
• Create a design to frame your text. You could select or design a border, add clip art images, such as hearts, or even a photo of you and your sweetheart. We worked with a square clip art image, adding a deep burgundy colour and repeating it four times on the canvas to create a border.
• Insert a text box and copy or type your poem or song lyrics.
• If you are using a handwritten note, scan it as a jpeg and insert it into your image.
• Flip the text (or image) horizontally so the words are facing the right way once you iron the paper to the fabric.

Step 4: Printing your image
• Test-print your design on scrap paper to ensure you are happy with the layout and dimensions.
• When you are ready, print your image onto the T-shirt transfer paper using the best-quality setting.

Step 5: Ironing the image
• On a hard surface and following the package directions, place the T-shirt transfer paper face-down on the front of your pillow and iron.
• Allow the paper to cool before peeling it off.

Step 6: Finish your pillow
• Insert the pillow form into your cover.
• If the cover is pre-made, close it accordingly.
• If you have created your own and haven't inserted a zipper, turn in the edges at the bottom of the cover and sew together.

Visit the Canadian Living Craft Blog for more inspirational crafting ideas.