DIY Hand Painted Throw Pillow
We are knee-deep in purple over here. We started revamping Lou's room to add a little more whimsy, and a little more of her favorite hue, and the revamp has led to a bunch of (mostly) fun DIY projects. We're trying to get the most bang for our buck, of course, and at the same time trying to personalize the room for Lou. This pillow, for example, is a specific request. Lou wanted a heart pillow, and she wanted the heart to be gold and the pillow to be purple.
Dollar store pillow case into stenciled throw pillow.
What can I say? My girl has good taste. This was a super simple project, courtesy of my standard throw pillow technique. I snagged this lavender, linen-esque standard pillow case in a pack of two from the dollar/discount store for about $4. Then, using a heart pillow we already had (and which provided the inspiration for Lou), I cut the case to the size I needed, hemmed the edges with no-sew tape, painted a heart on it, and applied adhesive Velcro strips to each outer edge.
Use a throw pillow case as a template for size.
Create your stencil or template. I traced the heart on our existing pillow - it was perfect and the right size, so no need to reinvent the wheel.
Trace your template on your new case.
Use a marker that will blend in with your paint color - I used a gold.
Use a board - here, I used a piece of foam core - to provide a stiff work surface for your paint. Pull your fabric away from the board occasionally to ensure it doesn't get stuck to the board.
Use small crafts brushes and some clearance acrylic paint for your pillow design.
I'm a big fan of adhesive Velcro strips to create pillows I can switch up without ruining the case. After hemming the edges neatly with hem tape and stuffing in the pillow, I applied the Velcro to the very edges at the bottom of the pillow. It creates a flat edge at the bottom of the pillow, but that doesn't bother me.
You can see the hem tape hem if you look closely. It's nice and neat.
Flat edge, created by Velcro closure.
Strip one of Velcro.
And, as they say, voila. I love it. Lou LOVES it. She was pretty cute waxing on about how beautiful it is, and in her very "best" colors! You can see the little garland we're working on as well - that was fun until it became the world's biggest purple polka dot tangle, but that's for another day. As are the rest of our projects, including revamped art, a recovered lamp shade, and a wholly unnecessary paint project rendered necessary by finding the perfect shade of purple in the "oops" paint section. That happens sometimes.
