Painted Pillow

I have been wanting to try my hand at painting a pillow. I love all the large graphics on pillows I am seeing in the Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs catalogs. I just can't love the price. So I bought an inexpensive plain pillow (I think it was $7). I liked the color because it was plain and reminded me of burlap but without the scratchiness.

Then I had to figure out what I wanted to paint on the pillow. I thought about "&" but I just bought a huge wooden "&" at Marshall's and LOVE it and come on, how many "&"s does one need in the same room?

I also thought about "!" because that kinda fits our family. We are most definitely all about the "!" but I was afraid it would look more like a letter or number.

So I decided on "@". Not only is it visually interesting, it, in this technology day and age, means "at" and if this pillow is on a chair that's where it's "at". So it's factual. 

I printed out "@" from my computer on regular printer paper after spending WAY too long playing with different fonts. I'm indecisive that way. In the end I chose Braggadocio (or was it Wide Latin?). I can't even remember. I made it something like a 600 font size so it would be quite the statement on the pillow. 

I used black fabric paint although I imagine regular black craft paint would work too. I doubt I will be throwing this guy in the wash. 

You can see from the picture above that I had a stencil foam brush out. I didn't use it. I had originally planned on using the stencil method of cutting out the image and then pouncing on the paint. I've done it successfully with several other projects that were flat and hard surfaces. A pillow is neither. 

So I just traced inside the stencil directly onto the pillow with a pen. 

Then I just painted the fabric on with a small paint brush. I wish I had lightly brushed on the paint to give it more of an aged look, but I am still happy with the end result.

Took me way less than an hour (not counting my deliberation over font styles). The pillow is now resting "@" its place on my letter chair. I will tell you about that fun project once I find the pictures.

What would you paint on a pillow? 

Let's Try This Again

It has been over 4 years since I last posted on this site. I started the blog to give myself a regular reason to write. I eventually stopped because it felt self-serving to go on. I felt like I was writing to no one. I needed interaction. I have been following several blogs lately and I see the communities they have formed. That's what I was missing:  you. So pull up a chair and let's talk. I will share what I've learned this week or spray painted or found funny (sometimes that will all be the same thing). But only if you promise to share your thoughts too. Deal?