Thursday, December 8, 2011

Simple gift idea- DIY Christmas Pillow

I just finished a Christmas pillow that I just finished for a friend.  I love the way that it turned out.  My inspiration came from this fabulous Pottery Barn pillow that I stumbled upon through pinterest.  With a price tag way above my budget I decided to try and make my own version. 


I thought for about 2 minutes about cutting out a billion little felt leaves and hand stitching them on but then I remembered I am not an idiot and didn't want to spend 5 hours doing that.  *** Note to my sensitive readers- I don't think you are an idiot if you choose to go that route.  I'm a very impatient person and I would likely end up pulling my hair out and throwing a tantrum if I started a tedious project like this, so I personally would have been an idiot if I made that choice.  If you're patient enough to handle that kind of a project, my hat goes off to you.  :)  ***SOOOOO here's what I came up with instead to add a little flair and joy of my own.

Turned out pretty cute, right?  Best part about it?  My version cost about 1/10 of the PB price.

Here's what I did:

Following the same steps I shared with you in a previous post HERE, I quickly stitched an envelope pillow case out of bleached drop cloth, then using a cricuit machine, I cut out the word "joy"  on freezer paper and spray painted the stencil onto my pillow using a metallic silver paint (I prefer Rustoleum).

Last, but not least I picked up this darling rosette lace at Joann for about $5/ yard (cheaper with their 40% or 50% off coupon) and placed the lace where I wanted it creating a wreath and securing it in place with pins.  Then, I hand stitched from the back side between every rosette to secure the lace in place, and viola!  After about 30 min total, my pillow was finished and darling. 

Here she is in me living room.  I love Christmas decor that is subtle and still festive without red and green screaming in your face. 


I also made these holiday pillows for the seasonal front porch bench.


I intended to string a row of jingle bells below the "Believe" but just haven't gotten around to it yet.  Maybe I'll get off my lazy toosh and get to that.  Probably not...

Last but not least, I have to give a shout out to my new friend Ashley. She is a new reader who is also the lucky new owner of my latest Chevron chair.  I got to meet her in person last night and she was adorning me with compliments and praise left and right.  I didn't feel at all worthy for it, but she made me remember why I blog.  Thank you Ashley and all who continue to read and support this silly passion of mine.

XO

Penny Wenny

10 comments:

  1. Awesome! I love the graphic :) you're not an idiot and neither is Brandi, have you seen here knock off version? http://bet1975.blogspot.com/2011/11/pottery-barn-pillow-knockoff.html

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  2. Your pillow is beautiful, but I think it's unfortunate that you would refer to someone who spent time "cutting out a billion little felt leaves and hand stitching them" as an idiot.

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  3. This is a cute idea! I would be the idiot that cut out the felt and then stressed about how I have no time to do anything... Your idea is smarter ;-). I am doing a similar series on my blog of different crafty Christmas gifts! Check it out if you need more ideas.

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  4. @Vicky

    Vicky, thanks so much! I hadn't seen Brandi's pillow before but am so glad you shared it with me (and her blog in general, darling stuff) I need to find out where she found the felt leaves on a vine... I looked for something like that at Joann's but to no avail. Maybe I'll have better luck next year. :)

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  5. @Anonymous

    Anonymous, I'm so sorry if you took this to heart. By no means do I think you or anyone else are an idiot if they choose to do that. I just am a very impatient person who would go nuts if I spent that much time on a small project and would probably end up throwing a tantrum half way through like I did when I made a lima bean wreath and had to glue a billion beans on (believe me, it wasn't a pretty sight... :) that's why I opted to find a speedier alternative. Wish I had some more patience and more time!

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  6. @Beck's Chic Life

    thanks Beck! It was a fun and speedy project, right up my alley. I can't wait to see the different gift ideas you have on your series. XO

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  7. Hi Penny! I love your pillow! I love how you took inspiration from the PB pillow, but made it your own!

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  8. Greetings from Southern California.

    I am your Newest Follower :-)

    Have a Safe & Happy New Year!

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  9. It's funny you do these projects and they are super fun but comes to a point where it takes five hours to do something small like put leaves on a pillow and you say. It's just not worth it. When it becomes tedious it loses it's fun.

    -Zane of ontario honey

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