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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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January 26, 2015

How to Paint a Pillow

Hello, At the Picket Fence friends…it’s me, Julie from Redhead Can Decorate.
I’m back at the fence, and I’m ready to start 2015 with a little something you may have never thought of trying…

I painted a pillow…

Thrift-Store-Pillow-Makeover-by-Redhead-Can-Decorate

Last month, while browsing through our Good Will store here in Michigan, my daughter and I came across a throw pillow that cost $3.99. It was very plain, but in very good condition.

At home I was in the process of painting a wingback chair from the same store, and wondered if I could paint the pillow too. hmmmm?
Now, painting fabric of any kind sounds a little crazy, I know. If you know me even a little, you know that I love to take risks. I also love to save money. So, I tried it, and it worked. Not only on the chair, but on the pillow. Now, I am in love with them both.
The pretty, elegant, romantic pillow pairs up well up against the rustic, velvet-y, chic chair.

A match made in a heaven if you ask me.
Thrift Store Chair & Pillow Makeover by Redhead Can Decorate .com
Before I tell you how I painted the pillow, if you would like to know more about the $9.99 “Wingback Chair Makeover”, you can find my full tutorial here: “How to Paint an Upholstered Chair“.

When I decided to paint the pillow, I knew in the back of my head that the pillow wasn’t going to be the type of pillow that you get all cozy with and stuff under your head. In fact…it’s really only meant for decorative purposes. You know…the ones with beads, buttons, or sequins. Those just are’t meant to be cozy-fied pillows. They sure are pretty, though.

Transform an ugly pillow with paint.

The original pillow was a light salmon pink with a slight zig zag pattern. I decided to paint it creamy vanilla white with my usual go-to white paint by Behr. The color is “Swiss Coffee” and it is egg shell sheen.
The first thing most of us worry about when painting fabric is the paint developing a hard shell on the surface. To help soften that, and to get the paint to penetrate the fabric better, you must add water to the paint. I used a jar and mixed 2/3 paint, and 1/3 water. It was nice to be able to shake it well in the closed jar before each use.

Painting Tip
A few tips: I used tin foil to line a bowl to pour the paint into while painting, and then stored the rest in the jar. I also used tin foil to wrap my wet paint brush in when I was in between coats. Storing the wrapped brush in the freezer will keep it from drying out.
This pillow took 4 coats. It went on very easy, and the pillow is still very soft to the touch. I did sand it slightly at the end to make it as smooth as I could.

Then came the fun part. Decorating it. This is actually where I had no idea what I was going to do until I got to Joann Fabric’s. I’m inspired there a lot. When I saw this pretty pink rose for $1.99 I could not resist designing the rest of the pillow around it. The pink ribbon was also at Joann’s and it has wire on both edges which makes it so much easier to work with.

Clip-on Flower
Thrift Store Pillow Makeover by Redhead Can Decorate
To tie the ribbon I started with a full wrap around the pillow and then wrapped it back around to the front, and tied it in the front like I tie my sneakers, but with out a bow. I skipped making a bow and left enough to tuck under the rose to almost look like a bow (the wires made it very easy). The folds you see in the top layer around the pillow happened naturally with out me trying. I liked them so much, I just left it that way.
To be honest, any way you tie a ribbon around a pillow it will look cute. Just play with the ribbon a little and give it your own touch.

The final touch, the rose, just clipped on. So pretty!

Pretty Pillow Makeover by Redhead Can Decorate

 

I hope you’ll stop by redheadcandecorate.com to see what else I’m up to. I’m now in Instagram, too.
~Julie XO

11 Comments Filed Under: Crafts, Decorating, DIY, Good Ideas, Holidays, Valentine's Day Tagged With: Valentines Day crafts

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Comments

  1. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    January 26, 2015 at 3:57 AM

    I’ve always used saran wrap on my brush but it could dry a little in between coats. I’ll have to try the freezer trick. The chair and pillow turned out great. It certainly is cheaper than changing the fabric completely!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      January 28, 2015 at 3:22 PM

      Thank you, Marisa! I think you will love the tin foil trick 🙂

      Reply
  2. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    January 26, 2015 at 4:05 AM

    Beautiful painted pillow and I love the chair too!!!.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      January 28, 2015 at 3:23 PM

      Thank you Shirley, your sweet comments are always appreciated! XO

      Reply
  3. Susie @ The Chelsea Project Blog says

    January 26, 2015 at 4:21 AM

    Such a beautiful pillow. Surprised you did not use fabric medium. Love learning this technique. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Susie @ The Chelsea Project Blog says

    January 26, 2015 at 4:24 AM

    I will need to make one of these pillows ASAP. Thx for the handy painting tip.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      January 28, 2015 at 3:24 PM

      Thank you, Susie!

      Reply
  5. Kathy says

    January 26, 2015 at 5:22 AM

    Your pillow looks fabulous! Great buy at goodwill.

    Kathy

    Reply
  6. Julie says

    January 28, 2015 at 3:24 PM

    Thanks, Kathy!

    Reply
  7. Teresa says

    January 28, 2015 at 10:40 PM

    I absolutely love the chair. It is just gorgeous! And the pillow just makes it even more so! Great job!!

    Reply
  8. debbiedoos says

    January 31, 2015 at 6:02 AM

    Julie you are always so clever! Love this idea. I have painted a lot of things but never a pillow in this nature. Thanks for the idea.

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake a I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake and grabbed a banana out of the freezer and was about to put it into my shake before I realized it was a frozen egg roll. Sooooo that's how my day is going so far! 🤪How about you?

It's honestly fairly representative of my state of mind these days as I can't seem to make the date on the calendar match the date in my spirit because it feels like it should be January 45th. Every year this month drags on and every year it seems to surprise me for some reason. In addition, my heart just feels heavy as I witness a lot of darkness and sadness around me. So, I'm choosing to control what I can control by making my house feel as cozy as possible, relishing the sunshine whenever it dares to peek through the clouds, gathering inspiration for warmer weather projects and, most importantly, resting in the comfort of the sovereignty of my Father.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work..." Job 37:5-7
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Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshi Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshine is breaking through the fog and my house just seems happier. We definitely needed to see that light streaming in through the windows and it’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

And yes, there are still twinkle lights on my mantle because those help when the sunshine goes away again. ✨
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It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offe It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offering a gentle reminder from my own parenting experience after feeling my heart pricked with conviction about what was waiting for my daughter every day after school. I hope it will encourage you! 🌿#tiptuesday
The day after Christmas I found myself laundering The day after Christmas I found myself laundering and folding all of the linens we used the previous night as we hosted my husband's side of the family for dinner and other festivities. As I laid out each cloth napkin and folded them one by one, I couldn't help but be struck by what a simple, yet meaningful, task it was. It's such an honor and privilege to be the hostess and, at this stage of my life, I realize that this has almost one hundred percent become my role now. Our parents are in their 70's and have either downsized significantly or simply don't have the energy to take on hosting duties for a large group. I could resent this. I could feel overwhelmed by it. But, instead, I'm choosing to embrace it knowing that, someday, I too will pass the hosting torch and I hope that I will be welcomed with love and attentiveness. So, I fold the linen napkins, taking pleasure in the way all of the creases line up and how neat and tidy they look in the drawer of my dining room buffet. These seemingly simple chores are part of the lifeblood of homemaking and my attitude towards them can either be one of gratefulness or grumbly-ness (yes, I'm making up words now). 

And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.” (Elisabeth Elliot⁣)
Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kic Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kicking off the year with a brand new series! Each weekly installment will feature a tip for everything from your home to faith to parenting to family life and so much more. My goal for 2023 is to have far more personal interaction with this community while continuing on with the mission of weaving together all things heart and home. I hope you enjoy this first tip and I’d love to hear from you about whether or not you decorate for winter! 
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“He has made everything beautiful in its time. H “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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