Custom Designs
Together with bestselling author M.L. Rio, I dreamed up these personalized gravestone pillows, adorned with 3D mushrooms and a sneaky rat backing, to promote her 2024 novella Graveyard Shift.
The Process
Thrilled to put my gallows humor to good use, I drafted the pattern using the handy tools over at Stitch Fiddle, and then I got to work. One extra large pillow featured the epitaph “NOT DEAD YET” and seven smaller pillows were embroidered with each winner’s chosen initials.
The finishing was key on this project. I blocked the front and back of each pillow, stretching it into the desired tombstone shape and letting it dry. Then I stitched the sides together, filled the pillows to maximum fluffiness, and shipped the whole lot out to their forever “plots.”
The entire project took months to complete and remains one of my all-time favs! I loved working with the author on crafting something totally unique that captures the spirit of her book and drummed up excitement around its launch.
