What The Cha Cha?! and a Pair of Pillows

So- you know the saying March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb....
last time I checked the calendar it was March 23rd- the END of March- and the weather people are calling for 4-7 inches of SNOW tonight into tomorrow!?  What the heck! What in the world?! (I'm trying to correct my bad speech habits because Zella recently said "what the heck" out of frustration....bad Mommy)- anyway- I DO love snow- but not in March- it's very un-lamb-like:)
On the subject of Zella's speech- her latest speech phase is adding "Cha Cha" into otherwise normal phrases...examples from the past 24 hours:
"Daddy, that's not Cha Cha music!"...said during our after dinner dance party last night.
"Watch this great Cha Cha dance move Mommy"...said same time as above.
"This is the best Cha Cha soup I've ever had"... in regards to the lentil soup I made last night.
"Let's go under the nice Cha Cha blanket"...while getting into our nightly "igloo" before bed.
I'm not quit sure if Cha Cha means "awesome", or maybe "delicious", or maybe "warm and fluffy"???? Whatever it means- it's something good and is always said with enthusiasm- you should give it a try!  I'm thinking I may start substituting it in my common frustration induced phrase...What the Cha Cha?:)

Onto the project of the day- I finally got around to making the pillow covers for the big inserts I mentioned here., for my newish living room design.
I have been slacking big time in the project department- between last weeks stressful event and working the past 4 days- today was a much welcomed rest...and it gave me a little time to sew:)

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a seamstress.  I sew because I'm cheap, and out of necessity.  I sew things like curtains, pillow covers, chair covers, quilts- etc.  My sewing attention span is very short- hence the simple projects with fairly straight seams. I consider myself an abstract sewer- I do not have the patience to follow a pattern- hence me not attempting any clothing:)
So- I came across this amazing tutorial on the design blog Casa Brasi- on sewing zippers into pillow covers- and I knew at once I had to give it whirl...and I'm SO glad I did!!!!
Advantages to zippered pillow covers:

1. less fabric is used
2. looks more professional
3. less bulky

that's enough reasons for me!  and it didn't take that much longer (it will be even faster the more I do!)

Here's the fabric I used- I LOVE it. 

I found it at this Etsy shop, and here's how the pillows came out- I'm still playing with the arrangement of all of my toss pillows between the 2 couches.  I ended up putting a linen back on the pillows to reserve the remaining velvet for more pillows (possibly for the smaller couch)?

It needs to be ironed- but you get the idea;) Not too shabby right?

Thank you Amanda from Casa Brasi for the fabulous tutorial!