Damaged Goods and Product Testing

Sadness Alert:  Due to a camera malfunction, this post does not include any new photos.  I will be taking my camera to Best Buy tomorrow to discuss the warranty/possible fix tomorrow since it is not even a year old.


Happiness Alert:  While this post does not contain pictures, it does contain useful information for those who plan to buy my pillows.  


One of the first pillows I ever made has been damaged but not destroyed.  I really like this pillow as it livens up a very boring brown chair in my office.  In case you would like your memory jogged, see the following post: refresh your memory here!  The culprit of the damage is a certain two year old.  I cannot confirm this as no one will fess up, but here are the facts, just the facts:



1.  A certain blond, curly head enjoys using markers and hates to put the caps back on.  This is an ongoing argument.
2.  She likes to color her coloring books while resting the book on the boring brown chair
3.  Yes, I am setting myself up for disaster because I do not tend to yell at her about this too much.  I don't really care too much.  The chair is old anyway.  This lack of discipline does not apply to all areas of her upbringing.  Plus, she uses colored pencils more than markers.  
4.  The pillow was found with a blue stain on the bottom.  It looked as though an uncapped marker bled onto the pillow.

I am not mad because the fabric was super cheap.  Cheap as in I got in on the clearance rack for the purpose of practicing.  Therefore, I thought it was important to look on the bright side:  Product testing time!

I have never washed a pillow that I have made before.  This pillow was made out of a basic cotton and poly-fil batting.  I treated the stain and dumped it in the washer with detergent and washed on normal.  When the pillow came out of the washer, it looked pretty good.  I then threw it in the dryer with a tennis ball for optimal fluffing. Genius!!!  The pillow came out clean and fluffed.  This is fantastic news for the following reasons:

1.  I bought owl and zoo animal fabric in a basic cotton for pillows to sell on Etsy.
2.  This is great fabric for kids.  They always have messy faces, pukey bellies, snotty noses, ect. and as moms we have to launder everything they touch.
3.  I now know for sure that I can market these pillows as kid friendly, durable, and washing machine friendly.

Brilliant!!!  I am way to excited about this discovery.  But, it is kind of exciting.  I think I need to get more of a life.  I am turning into a crazy pillow lady!