No Sew Pillows

So the time is drawing near, Ariston will soon make his appearance into the world and Micah and I could not be more excited, anxious, nervous, scared, and ready for him to just go ahead and get here :) I tracked out of school a couple of weeks ago and I must say that this time was much needed to take it easy and to get things ready for our son. The nursery wasn't even close to being finished this time last week but my gracious parents helped serve us during this time and came last Friday to help clean, do laundry, etc. All we have left are a few minor details to add and his room will be complete! So sorry, no pictures of the entire room just yet. But I did want to share some awesome information on how to do "No Sew Pillow Cases." Complete nursery pictures to come...

I had decided that sewing was simply not an option for me this late in my pregnancy. The sewing machine is cumbersome and I didn't want my big belly to interfere with my project. So I researched some "no sew" alternative tutorials online. Not only was I able to make some "No Sew Pillows" but I made some curtains as well!

Here's all you need to make the pillows:

* 1 square pillow

* 1 roll of Stitch Witchery

* scissors

* iron

* ironing board

* white cloth

* tape measure

* fabric of choice

1. measure your pillow, mine was 12 x 12

2. add two inches to each side, so mine was 14 x 14 and cut your fabric accordingly

3. Then subtract 5 inches from one side of your dimensions, so 14 x 9

4. Cut two pieces of fabric accordingly, so my two pieces were 14x 9 and 14 x 9

5. Fold and iron a 1 inch hem as shown in the picture above

6. Place stitch witchery strip underneath the hem and iron to make hem.

*Make sure to use your white damp cloth on top of the fabric directly underneath the iron so as not to burn the fabric.

7. Lay larger piece of fabric (14x14) right side up (pretty side facing up)

8. Covering the larger piece, lay one of the smaller pieces right side down with the hem at the top of the fabric

9. Again covering the larger piece, lay the other smaller piece right side down with the hem at the bottom of the fabric.

10. Finally use the Stitch Witchery to line the four sides of the three pieces of fabric. Basically bonding the sides of the square together. Use your iron to do this.

11. Let the fabric cool for 5-10 minutes. Flip the fabric inside out and your work is complete! :) Go ahead and stuff your pillow!

Concept Board for Ariston's Nursery & a Lesson in Trust

So Micah and I spent practically all day looking for the basics for the nursery. We started the day off by going to the NC State Fairgrounds in hopes to snag a great deal on a dresser for our baby boy. Before heading over we grabbed some lunch at Jasmin's Mediterranean Bistro on Hillsborough St. It was quite delicious and we had a great time reminiscing our frequent trips there during library dates in our college days. Man do we miss college! Well maybe not the studying part... :)

Anyway...we made it to the fairgrounds finding some pretty things but nothing too enticing. On our way out we found a great deal on a dresser and were so excited to finally purchase a piece for Ariston's room so we rushed home to measure the space (oops guess we should have already done that!). Long story short...we called and the owners had already sold the piece! Bummer...

The next part of the day was filled with the same sort of dissapointment. We went on craigslist trips and were dissatisfied and sadly, my impatient self was getting frustrated. But we finally decided on the crib after much deliberation. We decided on the one pictured in my concept board. It's a Babyletto Modern Crib in Espresso. Finally something to build off of! However, I got so excited about it that while ordering it, I accidently ordered it twice!!! Major oops!

Lesson learned though is that I am in great need of patience. I found myself getting pretty anxious today about the whole thing today due to our limited time the rest of the summer to get his nursery together. Due to my stress and anxiety, I could literally feel the effects of what my stress was doing to our son. Christ reminds us to find our rest and peace in Him. Being anxious is sinful because I am not trusting in His promise to take care of me. Thankfully, Christ intercedes for me and reminds me that He is capable of taking care of me and I can rest in that. I am also thankful for a husband that loves me well by keeping me accountable of this area in my life. I can also be a better momma to our son when I am not stressing him out :)

Matthew 6:25-33

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^{[g] 28}And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."