"The Rings Please...."

You tube strikes again.  I am telling you, having youtube.com as a source of inspiration and a tutorial guide is awesome.  As a personal touch for the wedding, I want to do a few DIY items but nothing too grandiose. I know my limitations and skill set so I wanted to do a few simple items that would not only look good but also save me money.  This is where youtube.com comes to the rescue.  Just type in what item it is you want to make and there are a myriad of video tutorials (some better than others) for your choosing.   

I figured a ring pillow would be something easy for me to make.  I took home economics in high school and sewed two pillows. Granted I also forgot much of the sewing techniques I learned so many years ago BUT I recently signed up for a weekly sewing class at the local Catholic church, so my confidence in amateur sewing has increased.  A ring pillow was right up my skill 'alley', so I took to youtube and found a tutorial for a simple (yet pretty) no sew ring pillow. I followed the tutorial BUT decided to sew the pillow instead. The results are amazing, if I do say so myself.

For a heart pillow (my theme is two hearts): trace a heart on a piece of computer paper, then place the heart on the fabric and cut.

Attach bobby pins to stabilize (prevent from moving, making it easier to sew) the 2 pieces of fabric, then sew together with a simple stitch. Sew on the INSIDE of the fabric as you need to flip it over.

My mother in law showed me this trick of cutting mini pieces at the edge of the fabric to make it smoother once I turned the pillow over. Make sure to leave a little opening for stuffing. As an added touch, I sewed the pillow using a sewing machine, which is not as intimidating as it seems. This allowed me to remove the simple stitching.

Flip pillow over, then stuff.

After stuffing, attach lace with hot glue around the pillow for a more finished look... also makes it look more like a ring pillow.

Attach ribbons anywhere on the front of the pillow for a little bit of 'pretty' and also for the rings.

Voila! The finished ring pillow.  Because my mother in law already had the materials, the pillow only cost me the price of the ribbon (so a whopping .30 cents or so).  I saw a nice regular square pillow with a heart box attached for the rings for about $7 that I was tempted to buy. I am so glad I decided to make my own pillow, because I ended up saving over $6 bucks AND the pillow goes perfectly with my theme. Not to mention, it means so much more because I made it.