Love One Another { A Valentine Pillow }

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

I am so eager to share the new Valentine's pillow  that I made!  Not only do I love it's simplicity, but the message behind it has been weighing on my heart for some time now. 

If you want to skip on down to the craft...that is ok!

Next week will be one year since my Dad has passed and I am feeling a dozen emotions all at once! These last twelve months I have felt like I was anywhere from six years old to in my fifties! At the end of some days I would think about all I had done that day... potty training my toddler, homework with my second grader, meeting with attorneys, closing two businesses while running my own, blogging, and at the same time feeling like I just wanted my daddy.  All of those things can really make a girl's head spin! 

By far, the most difficult thing I had to deal with was the realization that I couldn't fix this and I am such a fixer and family peacemaker!  I couldn't take anyone's pain away, I couldn't bring him back, and I just couldn't make peace out of this.  Whatever pretend control I thought I had was thrown out the window on a daily basis!   

 In God's wonderful way and in His own timing, I began to hear... just love one another. 

Don't fix ... just love!

Duh!  It was just a quiet whisper at first, but then that verse just kept popping into my head!  I'm learning how to let go of the fixin', but it is slow work for this old gal!  This pillow will sit out as a great reminder of what we are called to do.

Now.... back to the craft!  

This was such an easy pillow to make and I just love how it turned out!  I cut out fabric to make a 16x16 pillow with an envelope closure (Creative Maven has a great tutorial if you are looking for one).  Then I created a stencil on my Cricut.  I cut it out on freezer paper and ironed it on my pillow front and got to painting!  I used acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium to paint on the pillow.  

I love using freezer paper stenciling, you don't even have to paint in the lines!  After the paint dried I lifted off the freezer paper, ironed, and sewed my pillow together.  That's all!  Super easy! 

Thanks for listening today!  Y'all are the best! 

*Trish