Throwback Puffy Paint Pillow Covers

Friends, Romans, countrymen (and women).  Lend me your ears!  It is only befitting to start this introduction with the words of Shakespeare because the wonderful lady you are about to meet is not only a fellow English major…but she also possesses a bust of The Bard, which earns her ultimate cool points in my book.  Oh, and she happens to be one of my dearest bloggy pals of Haven 2013 & 2014 fame.  Alas, I have spoken e’re too long.  Let me give the floor to Emily!

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Hellooooooo Thinking Closet readers! I’m Emily from Two Purple Couches, and I’m super excited that Lauren has asked me to come hang out here today. Lauren is a dear friend and one of the bloggers that I look up to most, not just for her great advice and tips, but for the way her creativity inspires me to push my own.

A Little Bit About Me

I describe myself as a creative dabbler. What does that mean? Well, it means I like to try my hand at all kinds of crafts, projects and diys. I love the experience of trying something new!

The project I’m sharing with you today was inspired by one of Lauren’s throwback crafts. Remember her fab Perler Bead earrings? Well, in addition to Perler Beads, my craft projects of yesteryear also involved a lot of… puffy paint!

I though puffy paint was The. Coolest. when I was a kid. My mom had a huge book of iron-on transfer designs, and I covered all sorts of tee shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags with iron-on designs that I colored in with puffy paint. So naturally, my creative wheels started turning around new ways that I could use my favorite childhood craft paint. And I ultimately decided to combine my love for puffy paint with my love for throw pillows!

Here’s the How-To:

I selected my fabric—a deep midnight blue batik— and sewed a simple 18″ x 18″ envelope cover for a pillow form I had on-hand. Well, if I’m being honest, my mom helped me sew the cover; she’s the seamstress of our family.

Once the cover was made, it was time to bust out the puffy paint! As much as I wanted to dive right in, I decided to sketch out a few patterns and designs first. Then, I practiced on a few pieces of leftover fabric, just to be sure the paint would show up the way I was hoping it would. I played around with a basic white and deep gray-silver. It’s a good thing I practiced on fabric first, because the gray-silver paint dried sort of clear (see top of the right swatch). I wanted a more bold effect, so white it was!

Here’s where my dabbling nature took over. I started out creating a dotted design on my pillow cover, but it just wasn’t working. The paint was getting globbed up. So, I switched it up and tried another design: freeform almost leaf-like or paisley shapes, which worked much better, and I was able to blend over my first attempt.

TIP: Don’t be afraid to change things up mid-process if it’s not going the way you want it to! As Tim Gunn always said, “Make it work.”

 

And here’s the finished pillow:

Your Turn

I hope you enjoyed my puffy paint throwback pillow! Leave a note in the comments and tell me what your favorite childhood craft supply was!

Thanks again, Lauren, for having me over today!

Readers, I hope you’ll all come visit me over at Two Purple Couches. I’ll be there dabbling away on any number of projects, from washi tape art to fabric-wrapped letters to wood plank art and even gardening!

-Emily