Confession time. I'm not much of a catalog or mall shopper. I only own a few things from Pottery Barn - their decorating books and some sconces my mom gave me. I've never even seen a Ballard Design catalog and the only thing in my house from Restoration Hardware is a pair of candlesticks I bought at a yard sale for $2.00. Despite those facts, I knew immediately what I was going to do.
On a rare mall visit in November, I had the chance to roam around in Restoration Hardware for a while and fell in love with their linen pillows. The smallest one was $35, which is not that bad, but I usually spend less than that on a piece of furniture. So, I looked longingly at them and walked away.
After months of pining for these pillows and similar ones made out of vintage grain sacks, I took matters into my own hands. I know I can paint these designs...will it work on fabric? With acrylic paint? Could it be that simple? It was!
I pulled some natural linen ($12/yard) out of my fabric stash and cut it to fit a down pillow that was on my bed. It was an old bed pillow that I split to make two smaller pillows, so that was free. Feathers were flying, but it was free! I mixed pewter gray and burnt umber acrylic paints to make a soft brown color to paint the address. My blog friend in France, Bird from Bird Crafts, helped me out by giving me the address of the Eiffel Tower.
I typed up the address on MS Word and printed it up in the desired size. Fortunately, the linen fabric was see-through enough to place the printed paper underneath and lightly trace it in pencil. I then painted the letters. Once the paint was fully dry, I made a simple pillow with a piping edge.
Here's the bottom line:
Restoration Hardware Paris Address Pillow - $35.00
My Hand Painted Pillow - Less than $5.00
Now, go visit So You Think You Can Decorate and vote for your top two favorites.
I've posted this to Make It For Monday at Cottage Instincts, We Can Do it Cheaper at The Virginia House, DIY Day and Make It For Monday