Doughnut and Sweetie Cushions

Last weekend, my daughter had a birthday party to go to for one of her good friends. I almost always make the gifts my girls give to their friends for birthdays, but as the years go on, I'm finding I've used up a lot of my ideas and 'go to' birthday gifts.

Pencil cases have been a favourite for many years, and it's always nice to go into my daughter's classroom at school and see some of these pencil cases still being used daily!

So - this time my daughter wanted to give something other than a pencil case but wasn't sure what.  We both spent some time on Pinterest, browsing pictures and ideas, and eventually decided on a doughnut cushion.

I made the doughnut cushion following this great little tutorial from A Beautiful Mess.

 I think I made the hole in the middle of my doughnut a little bit big, and maybe should have used softer stretchier fabric to make a softer cushion.

Anyway - it all worked out and looks quite doughnut like!  I even made a mini keychain version to go with it!

Since this doughnut cushion is quite small and has a rather oversized hole in the middle, it may look cute, but isn't really much use as a cushion to lean or rest on. So I decided to add an extra cushion..

For this one I just made a small 'bolster' cushion then finished the edges off a square of soft yellow fabric and tied the ends with pretty ribbon to make it look like a sweetie!

So a nice, and 'different' gift selection for my daughter's friend.

Do you find you make the same kind of gifts for your kids' friends each year?  

What kind of things do you make and give for birthday presents?
I'd love some new suggestions!