I am so excited to have a friend and old sorority sister guest posting for me today. Langley is a work at home mom to two kids and also blogs on the side. You can check out her blog at http://adviceandadventures.blogspot.com. She is posting today some really cute and easy DIY pillows. They are perfect for your couch and the heart one is perfect for kids.

One of the easiest ways to change up the whole feel of a room is with throw pillows. You can usually pick them up from the store for less than $20, but I prefer to make them myself. They end up costing around $5-$7 and you can make exactly what you want. I decided I was going to make something to add a little Valentine’s Day cheer to the house.

I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted, so I grabbed an assortment of fabric from the craft store (I usually shop at JoAnn’s and always use a coupon – they even take phone coupons and match online prices).

I really loved the burlap and the red stripe (which is actually a mattress backing fabric). I cut out a medium-sized square of each. I ironed both and put the best sides facing each other.

The nice thing about working with a striped fabric is you know at least two of your sides will be sewn straight. It’s always helpful to put a few pins in so the fabric doesn’t shift while you are sewing.

You’ll want to sew three sides of the pillow and then only 2/3 of the last side (to leave enough room to flip the pillow inside-out and stuff the batting).

When you do flip the pillow, be sure to focus on the corners to get them fully turned out. 

It’s also a good idea to push the batting into the corners (you can use a pen or utensil handle) so they stay firm and don’t get floppy.

Once the pillow is stuffed as firmly as you like, you can hand-sew the remaining section shut. I cut out two smaller pieces of red felt, and ironed on some Wonder Under to the back.

I cut out a smaller heart and ironed it on the front of the pillow for a cute, but subtle nod to Valentine’s Day. You could add initials with a white paint pen to make it even more personalized.

I like how shabby-chic the soft burlap and stripe turned out, but I couldn’t stop ‘petting’ the minky fabric, so I made another pillow…

Since the pillow wasn’t all straight edges, I ran the sewing machine slower. A good trick to remember is to leave the needle in the fabric when you need to start sewing in a different direction. It makes sure you stop and start the new line in the same place. Just pick up the presser foot, turn the fabric, and keep on sewing.

I used the same process on this pillow, and stopped with just enough room to flip and stuff. Before you do flip, cut off all of the excess fabric (leave about ¼ of an inch). This makes the seams lay better when it is turned inside out. It also makes corners less bulky.

This pillow is definitely not subtle, but it is a fun and fuzzy celebration of love. Baby girl certainly enjoys it!

Langley is a work-at-home mother who currently resides in Minnesota with her husband and two little ones. She chronicles her parenting and crafting adventures on her blog: http://adviceandadventures.blogspot.com