throw pillow diy. sorta.

You know those throw pillows that I've been claiming I'd sew for months? They're sitting on my couch. I'm not going to lie; They took me days to make. Three throw pillows = days.

They still aren't perfect. In fact, if that's what they had looked like the first time I sewed them I would have grabbed my seam ripper {just kidding, I don't have one. I would have grabbed Matthew's pocket knife}. But this was after 10,000 tries, and for today, I like them.

The hardest part {by far} was the innocent looking yellow pillow. Don't let it fool you. It's downright vicious.

My great-grandma made that doiley, and I had the fabulous idea of sewing it to the center of the fabric I was using. What I didn't realize was that the pattern I was using wouldn't put the middle of my fabric... in the middle of the pillow. It looked stupid. Off.

Here's what I learned from the project.

• Before you begin sewing, get one of those cutting board things to help you measure so you don't have to make little marks all over your fabric and hope you're cutting in a straight line. I don't care how much they cost. It'll be worth it.
• Don't put doilies in the middle of your pillows.
• Keep trying no matter how bad you {literally} want to beat the stuffing out of your project.

Honestly, in the end it helped me to learn a lesson, and no lesson is worth learning if you don't turn around and teach it. The four year old who I watch is a perfectionist. She hates change and likes everything "just so". 

It's hard to do crafts with children who want their craft to look exactly like the box. "What color do you think we should use for  hat?" *She checks the box* "Black". Sometimes I want to scream, "You're allowed to be creative! It doesn't have to look exactly like that! That's why they gave you different colors to choose from!"

Yes, that was a rabbit trail. Back to the point. Yesterday, she was making a bunny craft that her mother had bought for easter time. She was having trouble glueing one of the eyes on and after a moment of trying she cried out exasperated, "I give up!" It made me smile. How many times did I say that yesterday when I was trying to turn fabric into throw pillows? I was quick to answer, "Oh no! We can't give up! Guess what I did yesterday." She looked interested and I told her, "I tried to sew something and I couldn't get it right and I said, 'I give up!' but Mr. Matthew said, 'You can't give up!' and then he helped me and I got it right {really he just encouraged me, but I was using it as an opportunity to help her}." She seemed surprised that adults sometimes almost give up, but we worked together and got that bunny looking awesome. 

All throughout the day, as we moved from activity to activity, she would look at me mischevously and say, "I give up!" so that I would reply, "Oh no! You know we never give up!" :) 

So, the good news is I learned something, even if it was completely unrelated to sewing throw pillows.