Monogrammed Pillow Tutorial

"When things go wrong

as they sometimes will..."

 

                                    - Edgar Guest

                                      "Don't Quit"

 

....I find it helpful to bury myself in a creative process, thus rendering me incapable of discussing above traumatic damage with perpetrators who happen to reside in my home.

I also find creativity an effective means of taking every thought captive, versus the more immediate impulse to explode in anger.

So, that being said, I monogrammed a couple pillows this afternoon.

When we purchased our master bedroom chairs from Restoration Hardware a couple years ago, we also received two down-filled pillows with linen covers.  Here they are with the pillow inserts removed.

 

Very nice quality, but ho-hum and non-descript, so I figured a hand-painted "C" stenciled on each would provide a little personalization and interest.

How right I was!

I started out by experimenting with different fonts on my computer and ended up choosing Edwardian Script for my C. 

After printing off my Edwardian C in something like 650 pt font, I laid a piece of freezer paper over the top and traced it with a pencil.

Initially I transferred the C to freezer paper because I planned to iron the stencil onto my fabric while I sponge-painted it on (I'd read ironing was effective for keeping freezer paper in place while stenciling), but I reconsidered as I went. 

My next step was to cut out the C image with a utility knife.  My knife wasn't very sharp, so I was careful to go slowly around each curve so it wouldn't snag or wrinkle the freezer paper.  It took me about 2-3 minutes to cut around the image.  Then, I copied the stenciled C directly onto my pillow cover by laying the stencil on top, centering it, and gently tracing around each curve and loopity-loop. 

I wasn't worried about leaving pencil marks as I knew my paint would cover them up.  I opted to go this route because my freezer paper stencil wasn't very flat, and I ended up with a couple free-floating pieces during my cutting out which I held in place with small strips of Scotch tape. 

Certainly not perfect or polished by any means, but all I needed to do was draw a pretty C on my pillow cover.  The stencil didn't need to last me any longer than that.

Because I was painting on fabric, I mixed some of Martha Stewart's Fabric Medium (available at Michael's) with a Raw Umber acrylic paint tube I had on hand, with the ratio being 1 part Medium, 2 parts paint.  The medium effectively transforms latex or acrylic paint into fabric paint, which is pretty amazing.  This bottle should last me quite awhile.

 

Finally, I took out my slim, angled paint brush and began filling in my traced C.  Painting my C was very relaxing, enabling me to calm my mind and ponder how best to respond to previously mentioned trauma in our home.

 

I let the paint dry while I prepared a couple halibut quiches for supper, then re-inserted the pillows.  Love how they turned out.

 

 



And there, in less than an hour, two non-descript pillows transformed for our front entry way. 


As for my crushed iphone 5, I'll be prudent and remain silent a while longer.


Crying may be a very real possibility.