Monday, March 11, 2013

Good Day, Mr. Browning

A bit ago I shared this picture of the pillows my in-laws helped me sew.  I have loved the pillows and I still get excited to make the bed.



However, I never quite completed one of the pillows (below) because I needed time to look at it to decide what finishing touch it needed.


One day, I ran across a Robert Browning poem, and realized that it had exactly what I wanted on my pillow.  It is especially perfect that we have a pillow with a Robert Browning phrase on it because Elizabeth Barrett Browning helped me theme our wedding.  We're coming full circle. :)
Originally, I was going to paint the phrase I wanted right on the pillow, but then I remembered that I'm afraid of commitment.  So, I messed with design a few ways on paper and then on scrap fabric, and then used this strip of fabric as the final.    

Friends, I free handed this--eyeballing a font I liked (Segoe Script)--and it was the most terrifying experience of my DIY life.  I couldn't find a stencil I particularly loved, and I didn't want to go to the effort of making one, so I opted for dangerous.  This is how I tend to do crafts--the nearly lazy way--and it usually haunts me forever because tiny mistakes show up here and there.  For example, I used a ruler to give myself straight lines to follow as I wrote, except I skipped that process for the third line which said "R. Browning."  You don't see it here because I cut it off.  Yep, I went crooked.  Sorry Mr. Browning, no credit for you.

Anyway, after frying my poor nerves, I grabbed the few supplies I needed to do the easy part of tacking on the strip of fabric.  (Chapstick is a necessary supply because whenever I'm concentrating I bite my lips.  And my hot milk, honey, and nutmeg drink just made me happy while doing crafts.  Oh, and I was watching Runaway Bride, so really it was a great time.)



  

And there you go!  A finished pillow that is still completely alterable.





(Sorry, it's not the best lighting, and my pillows look tired, but it really is quite pretty in person.)









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