Sometimes in life we have time to process and prepare for change. There are other moments in life where we don’t, and we can feel robbed or cheated. I am continually thankful that we had time to process, prepare, cry and cherish our last days with our sweet foster son. We are still largely processing all that we experienced and what God wants for us, but one thing I am continually so grateful for is God’s faithfulness.

One of my outlets for processing change and all that life throws my way is crafting. This past weekend, with a million things on my to-do list, I snuck away to my sewing machine for an hour and created this embellished pillow. What can I say, it’s like therapy. While I process life, all that’s going on, and all the things ahead I’m thinking a lot about my roots, where I’m from, and all those special people who have invested in me along the way. So naturally being a good Southern girl, I have Georgia on my mind, and now I have it on my pillow too!

Follow along and you too can make a state pride piece for your home.

I started with a plain dark grey, simple pillow case. I have had this one for sometime, but it didn’t look right in my home without a little jazz. So I decided to add my state outline to it. It is no secret that embellishing an already existing item can make a very easy craft. It can often times make your project cheaper. Just like my felt heart pillow, this state pillow will turn a dull boring pillow into a fun statement piece.

I Googled “GA outline” and printed my favorite one, pinned it to my fabric, and cut the paper and fabric at the same time to give me a Georgia fabric silhouette. You could repeat this process with any state or country that is special to you.

I then pinned that fabric silhouette to a piece of burlap and cut about 1/4″ off the fabric silhouette to give the state a burlap border.

I then used some scrap felt to cut out a heart. I placed this where our capital would be on a map. We live in a northern suburb of Atlanta, so it only seemed appropriate to make sure it is represented on the state. I embroidered the heart in place and then sewed the whole piece onto my existing pillowcase.

I love how it turned out! It added a punch of personality and fun to a rather boring pillow.

You could use this idea for any state, shape, or symbol! My bench is like a rotating canvas to hold my pillow obsession.

Are you an inward processor too? What activity helps you process?? I’m always up for new things. I wish I could journal, but then again maybe this is my journal.

I hope you all are having a good week! Find a way to use your imagination and dream big dreams with me!