Friday, October 18, 2013

Christmas Pillows!


This week I worked on some pillows. I wanted to try some stenciled pillows and these are the result. I got stencils on a sale and used acrylic paints. I mixed the paint with fabric medium to make them waterproof and it also keeps them from being too stiff.

I made the pillows to fit the size of the stencils, so you can do them in any size that you want. After I stenciled them, I put them in the dryer for 25 minutes and heat set them. Then I sprayed the lighter pillows with walnut spray. For those I used a stark white fabric and you can see it ages it nicely. The snowflakes were done on coffee stained fabric from moda. With the snowflakes, I added a little sparkle paint, but it doesn't show in the photo.

Once they were dry, I cut them to size and added a piece of batting to each side and sewed them, right sides together. I use the batting so when I fill them, the balsam sits in between the batting. You can leave an opening at the bottom for turning, or you can make a slit on the backside. I used a slit and covered it, after they were stuffed.

I added the border stitching, after they were stuffed. I hide the stitches by pulling them into the edges.


I stenciled them with a stencil brush and used a smaller brush to get into the smaller areas.


The snowflakes were done with white, then a glitter paint over that, so it has a light sparkle to it. The white is not as bold in person, the camera tends to heighten paint colors.


For my backs, I sewed the slit up with a basic slip stitch and then added a penny to cover the area. My camera was acting up today and the flash wasn't working right, so the colors are way off. This is tea stained cotton ticking, a great way to finish christmas pillows. I used green on the others.



18 comments:

Libby said...

Love them!

paulette said...

Brilliant...and so pretty too!! Well done!
P

Jacque. said...

Those are great, Debbie! What size did you finish them at? Cute stencils.

Melody said...

Fabulous work they look great.

Raymond Homestead said...

Turned out great! I've never tried doing that before.

Deborah OHare said...

Lovely! The snowflakes are my favourite.

moosecraft said...

Beautiful! I like the snowflakes best... and the penny on back to cover the hole is a great idea!

acorn hollow said...

the pinecone one should be stuffed with balsam I have several of those in my house. but I really love them all.
Cathy

marie said...

Great Job! They will add to your holiday decorating.

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

Very cute! I love the tree and the pinecone! :-)

Dorothy said...

It is years since I did any stencilling and yours looks wonderful. The cushions are lovely.

Julie Fukuda said...

You have a charming little set there! Nice job!

Carrie P. said...

cute little pillows. I haven't ever tried stenciling before. Great idea to put the pennys on back of your slit.

Chris said...

They cam out really great! I love the pinecone one.

kelley said...

love them Debbie...looks like fun

Anonymous said...

Very, very cute!

Denise * KKL Primitives said...

Love them all!

Karen said...

I like what you did with the stencils. You could stuff the pine branch one with pine needles. I have a small pillow a friend stuffed with pine needles. I don't know if they still have the lovely aroma. Will be getting it out soon for display.