A Little Pillow Talk

Apparently the cheapest way to add a little life to a room is to switch up the pillows. Whenever I see this on a blog or in a magazine I can't help but wonder -- 

Where are all these people keeping all those pillows? 

Do they have bins of seasonal and specialty pillows in bins in the attic? 

Do they vaccuum bag them and stuff them under the bed?

Do they organize pillow swaps? (Just blew my mind! How awesome would that be!!)

However they store them, I'm still wondering how much they are spending on pillows. Because all the "nice" pillows I see can range from $30-$60 a pop. Sure, it's cheaper than changing out all your furniture but I don't have a pillow budget that will accommodate a seasonal switch or a random pillow affair.

But what I do have is a whole bunch of scrap fabric and some really pretty fabric that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for like $3.50 a yard. 

I've said it before and I will say it again...

CANADA NEEDS A HOBBY LOBBY!

(with Hobby Lobby prices, not inflated Canadian prices)

So I made some slip covers for ugly pillows I already had. 

I made a pocket back slip cover. I didn't take pictures of the steps but here are the basics for making 2 pillows:

1. MEASURE YOUR PILLOW: Mine were 17 1/2 inches
2. CUT THE FRONT PANEL: Allow 1/4 inch seam allowance. So I cut out two 18 inch fabric squares. (for 2 pillows)
3. CUT THE BACK PANELS: You will need to cut 4 pieces. I cut the fabric 18 inches by 11 inches (Just add 4 inches to your width and divide by 2 - I would maybe even add an extra 6 inches to make a better close)
4. HEM: Hem the back panels. I rolled the seam a 1/2 inch. 
5. PIN & SEW: Then I pinned the fabric (right sides together) and sewed it all up.

The nice things about this type of slip cover is that you have no zippers and no sewing by hand! 

I thought the fabric alone was a little boring, so I added a strip of extra brown fabric to the front of one and figured out how to make a ruffle flower with a button center. I don't want to make the pillows too matchy-matchy so I'm not going to embellish the other pillow in the same way.

Benj just wanted me to take a time out so he could say, "H--I!!!" ...well more of a "Bwah" followed by spitting with his tongue. (Hence the big ole drool spot)

After looking at this picture, I'm realizing he's not the little baby that he is in my mind. He looks so big here.

A little update on what Benj is up to lately:

1. Thinks Caleb is the funniest person EVER! 
2. Always has his mouth open in a dumb happy look. (almost always looks surprised)
3. Is bound to skip the crawling stage and go right onto walking
4. Loves his walker {Or wheels as we call it). He is into EVERYTHING in it -- garbage, dishwasher, anything hanging off a counter. He loves chasing the other kids in it and is happy to be everywhere I am and roll over my toes. He is naughty already and will grab something (like a dirty spoon from the dishwasher) that he knows he is not allowed to have and run away. He's already super fast!
5. Still isn't a huge fan of food. He will eat cereal whenever the wind moves him too, he loves pureed fruit, yogurt {Y-U-C-K), and snacks. So we're cutting out the snacks in hopes that he will eat more of a variety.
6. He loves his momma and is obsessed with my earrings, necklaces and strings.

I want to say that the brightest things in my living room arm my new pillows, but I think that award goes to the cute little Benjamin (or Benji-man as Caleb likes to call him).

Love,
Kat