Burlap. I love it.
In fact, I just bought my third set of burlap drapes for my house without really realizing that they were my third.
Burlap is the new neutral. Rustic chic, yadda yadda. And I've really been loving the sweet burlap accent pillows I've seen either in Ballard's catalog .. Aww...for $60 each....wowww
Or on Pottery Barn's website....Cute.....for $35.50 for JUST the cover....yikes!
Or on various artists' stores on Etsy. I've found a ton there, but again...a lot that were around $30 for just the cover.
WHY ARE PILLOWS SO STUPID EXPENSIVE??!?!??!
Well, guess what....once I get something in my mind that I want, I obsess over it until I get it. This whole process usually involves spending $35.50 on a stupid pillow cover and $40 on the stupid insert for the stupid pillow cover.......BUT NOT THIS TIME!!!!!
I wanted to make a "J" initial pillow for my toddler's new "big boy" room that (SURPRISE!) has burlap curtains, a burlap train pillow (bought on Etsy) and a sweet vintage train theme. So, on a recent trip to IKEA, I had a little creative inspiration based on a furniture painting project I'd done recently with a computer-made initial stencil.
And the whole thing cost me like, $12. Oh, and I also finished the entire project in about 30 minutes....with about 28 of those minutes spent on cutting out the "J". So, if you also like the look of these pillows, but can't bring yourself to spend $80 on a puff of cotton, try this!
1. Purchase IKEA pillow cover "Vigdis" and pillow insert "Inner". The Vigdis cover is not burlap, but it looks pretty darn close to it. The website pic makes it look solid, but the actual fabric has a bit of natural texture to it, sort of like muslin. Insert and cover are both 20" x 20" so it's a pretty decent size, too. ($10 total, plus tax probably unless you live in Delaware. WHAT'S UP DELAWARE!)
2. Go on your computer. Sit down. Open up an MS Word file (*this is starting to get high tech. I know. breathe. we can do this) Type the initial you want on the pillow. Such as J. If you want a J...type, "J" Follow me? Ampersands are also very popular these days! Go ahead and ampersand that ish if you want! & & & & &!!!!!!! Now, highlight your initial or ampersand and blow it up to the size of the page....try 400-600 point font. Next, change your font to find the style you like for your pillow. Keep in mind that it will be a stencil, so try not to pick a super thin font. You can always bold it to see if you can "thicken" the font. I *think* the font I used was just plain old "Times New Roman", but I totally didn't write it down.
3. Print your initial on cardstock. I totally wouldn't use computer paper b/c it would be flimsy. Buying a ream of cardstock (Staples? Michael's?) is totally worth it because it can be used for a lot of projects. My only choice of size at Staples was 250 sheets the last time I bought it, so I just keep it in a drawer in my craft room and I'll probably end up printing my nursing home applications on it someday.
4. Carefully cut out the inner part of the initial, leaving the outer part as the stencil. Use a little bit of tape to tape back together where you cut with scissors.
i just noticed my foot is in this picture. sorry.
5. As shown above, lay your stencil where you want it on the pillow.
6. Now you need some paint. Because I am an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint addict, I have about 8 half-full cans on hand for things like this. And YES, Chalk Paint can be used on fabric!!! Win! I chose the bright red color "Emperor's Silk" because I thought it would make a good color accent in my son's room. If you don't happen to have Chalk Paint on hand, either go get some or I guess any paint will do. Fabric paint? House paint? Who knows. I tend to not put much "planning" and "thought" into things so I usually use what I have on hand, but ..... figure it out.
9. Remove stencil, let dry, insert pillow insert thing and VOILA! You're done!
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