PILLOW PALOOZA & FREEZER PAPER STENCIL

Last week I showed you some new fabrics and told you I was working on some new pillows.  Pillows are one of the fastest pick-me-ups when you're feeling the need for a change.

I've wanted to try adding in another color to my color scheme (whatever that may be)...PINK!  When I chose the Waverly fabric for the dining room chairs, I was glad that there was such a variety of colors, including pink and red.  I feel like I can switch back and forth with accent colors whenever the inspiration hits.  I have a pink striped throw that I picked up for 70% off at Target last Fall, and I've been waiting for Spring to pull it out.  

This big chair is getting the stink-eye for some new upholstery, but that's not happening any time soon.  So for now, I'll just distract you from the tiny red and tan check with some bold pillows.  I'm trying to convince myself that the chair reads neutral...if you squint and the light is right.  :)

The black and white stripe is Premier Prints.  The Waverly bright floral is left over from the dining room chairs, and I probably made a big design mistake by repeating it in the living room.  Hopefully it's not too matchy-matchy, but I like it and wanted some bright color on a pillow that wouldn't clash with the chairs across the room, so, I used what I had.

I also probably did a decorating no-no by using more than one animal print in a room...you're going to kick me off of your blog list! 

But does it really count since one is pink?  I don't think so.

 (sneaky little photo-bomber)

The leopard and pink zebra are both from Hobby Lobby.  The leopard comes in a really pretty blue colorway too if that's more your thing.

This is my new favorite thing to do when making pillows...

add a little surprise with the zipper color!  Really no one would know it's there, but I do.  I confess, I didn't plan contrasting colored zippers on purpose.  Last year our JoAnn fabric store was moving locations, and had a huge sale at the old store.  I bought almost every invisible zipper they had left...for 75% off.  I think I ended up with over 20.  Zippers are expensive, so I stocked up!  So, now if I don't have a color that would match the pillow and disappear, I pick a fun color that complements it.

By the way, I use feather inserts in all of my throw pillows.  We don't have allergy issues, and nothing compares to the fluffiness you get from a feather pillow.  I also make all of my pillows with an envelope back or a hidden zipper so they are easy to switch out.  The Nester wrote a post with a great discussion in the comments about feather pillows here.

Now, on to my favorite new pillow of the bunch.  If you follow me on Instagram you got a sneak peek a few days ago.

  

I love this pattern of ribbon trim, so I decided to try it out.  It wasn't hard, just time consuming and it took lots of pinning and measuring to get the pattern in place.  I basically marked the border where I wanted it and starting pinning the ribbon down as I went.  Then, I sewed it down on both edges, but you could easily use fabric glue also.

Ever since reading about freezer paper a few years ago from Julie, who is the queen of freezer paper stencils I think, I've wanted to try it.  I bought a roll ages ago and finally got around to using it. 

I considered making a new pillow with a large monogrammed "G", but didn't have the patience to wait for it to be made.  So, when I remembered the freezer paper trick I decided to give it a try.

Just like I did for my numbered bar stools, I printed the letter I wanted to use off of the computer, and then traced it onto the flat (not shiny) side of the freezer paper.  After cutting out the middle with an x-acto knife, my stencil was ready to go! 

The beauty of using freezer paper is that you use your hot, dry iron to fuse it temporarily to fabric, so the edges are nice and sealed.

Then, I used acrylic paint and a foam brush and dabbed the paint on.  Make sure you have some paper under your fabric, as the paint will most likely bleed through.  One coat probably would have been enough, but I went over it again after a few minutes to make sure everything was covered.

The moment of truth...most of the letter looked great, but there were a few places where I must not have pressed the edges good enough because it bled through a little bit.  It was easy enough to fix with a tiny paintbrush.

The best part is, this project cost me about $2!  I already had the paint, freezer paper, and the fabric was left over from the bookshelf skirts in the office, so all I bought was the ribbon.  However, what it lacked in front-end cost I made up with time spent on it.

  

I can't wait to show you my new favorite little corner where this pillow landed.

  

In the next few days I hope to start changing out from winter accessories to spring, and the pillows are the first piece to that puzzle.  It's already starting to feel like spring!

How about you?  What item would you buy a ton of if you found an amazing deal?  Have you decorated for spring yet?  Do you use feather inserts?  Have you used freezer paper for a craft project before?  Tell me.  I want to know.

Linking up with:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia