Learn how to make your own drop cloth pillow with a stenciled message from my own calligraphy: sunshine & summertime!
A few weeks ago I hurried home from church on a Sunday afternoon, fed my family, headed out for the afternoon, and walked into a room full of strangers. It was a day I'd been excitedly looking forward to for a couple of months.
That's unusual for me, because I don't usually look forward to spending hours making small talk with women I've never met.
I walked in a little nervous, but determined to give it my all and learn something new.
The four long tables were decked out with gorgeous flower arrangements, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and pretty folders. The ladies were dressed casually but nicely.
The young woman at the front of the room quickly asked my name and pointed me to a seat up front. Well, at least I'll be able to see the board, even though I hate sitting in the front.
A few hours later, I was thoroughly enjoying my hand-lettering class.
Actually, I was more than enjoying it. I was captivated and wondering where this had been my whole life. I spent most of my childhood doodling my name and all kinds of words on every scrap of paper I could find. And now I'd finally learned how to make it pretty.
I'll admit I have a long way to go and need a lot of practice, but it's something I don't mind practicing over and over. It's therapeutic, really.
So I spent one afternoon, while Miss A and Coach were out and the baby was napping, practicing a little summertime lettering. I knew right away I wanted to work it into my summer decor, but not by just framing it or putting it on the mantel.
And since I love stencils, paint, and pillows, I decided to turn it into a fun pillow for the couch!
A DIY Stenciled Drop Cloth Pillow Tutorial
I've stenciled a drop cloth pillow before, but I wanted to recreate the tutorial a bit differently this time.
Supplies for Making a DIY Drop Cloth Pillow with Stencil
- Drop cloth (I just pick mine up at the home improvement store.)
- Needle, thread, sewing machine
- Stencil
- Paint and brush
- Silhouette Cameo (optional)
- Pix Scan Mat (optional)
1. Make Your Stencil
You can use any kind of stencil you like, but I wanted to make my own. I placed my hand-lettered sign on the Pix Scan mat. I'm not sure I had to do that to transfer it to the Silhouette, but I know this method worked.
Then I created a cut file from my scan, and I'm sharing it here for personal use only. I hope you enjoy it, especially if you own a Silhouette machine.
Sunshine and Summertime Cut File (for Silhouette users only)
2. Cut out the stencil from contact paper on the Silhouette machine.
My settings for cutting contact paper on the Silhouette are: blade 3, speed 8, and thickness 3.
3. Make the Pillow
I used my older pillow tutorial to make my pillow from the drop cloth.
I cut three pieces of fabric from the drop cloth. Here are the dimensions: 1 – 26″ x 26″; 1 – 20″ x 26″; 1 – 16″ x 26″.
I'm using a 26″ x 26″ pillow form, and I like the finished pillow to look full, so I make the cover a little smaller than the form.
4. Stitch around the edges to make the pillow
Since it didn't matter which side of the fabric faced out or in, I laid the pieces over each other and stitched around the edges on my sewing machine.
5. Use Transfer Tape to Put the Stencil on the Pillow
Once the contact paper was cut out, I used transfer tape to get it onto the pillow.
6. Paint over the stencil onto the pillow
Important step: I slid plastic bags between the layers once I was ready to paint!
I used some leftover pink and gold paint to stencil the words onto the pillow. Use a craft foam brush with up-and-down strokes over the whole stencil. The key is to use just a little paint. Dab your brush before it touches the stencil, more like dry brushing.
7. Remove the Stencil from the Pillow
Once it was dry, I lifted the stencil and admired my handiwork!
Isn't she pretty? My new pillow pairs perfectly with my Garden & Lemonade Stand Summer Mantel, don't you think??
I'm pretty excited about my personal touch on the couch for summer. I have a few more drop cloth pillow ideas up my sleeve, and I hope to share them soon!
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