I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with lots of turkey and pumpkin pie! If you stopped by the blog this weekend you may have noticed that it got a BIG makeover! I’m so excited about the new look, I’m still making a few tweaks but it’s almost there. I’m anxious to hear what you think. Thoughts?
This weekend I finally completed my first Christmas project of the season, very timely I might add. Are you ready for the big reveal? Here are my new DIY burlap pillows to go with my ‘rustic-glam’ Christmas decor this year.
I hand painted the designs on the pillows using white acrylic paint (full tutorial below). I was a little nervous to do them completely free handed, but I think that’s my favorite part of them… they aren’t perfect.
I love the rustic vibe and how they add just the right touch of holiday decor without going over the top. Since I won’t have these pillows up year round, I wanted to make the covers easy to remove so I made them with envelope backs. They are so simple to make, you don’t have to hassle with zippers or spend hours hand sewing them shut.
Here’s a closer look at each design.
Winter Snowflake (crossing my fingers for lots of snow this year!)
And my modern Christmas tree!
For those of you interested in how to make these here is the full tutorial:
What you need:
- 2 yards of burlap for 2 18 X18 ” pillows (you will have a little left over)
- 2 18 x 18 pillow inserts
- 3/4 yard of white cotton fabric (muslin would work great too!)
- white acrylic paint
1. Start out by cutting 2 20 X 20″ squares out of the burlap for the front of the pillows.
2. Paint your design with the acrylic paint directly onto the pieces used for the front of the pillows (If you look closely you will notice the tiny little fingers of my assistant : P)
3. Then cut 2 20 X 25″ pieces to use for the envelope style back and cut them directly in half. So you will have 4 pieces at 20 X 12 1/2″
4. Press a 1″ hem on the inside edges (1-4 shown above) of the envelope pieces and sew.
5. To make the trim, cut 8 3 X 20 1/2″ strips and then press in half.
6. To create the corner pieces, align the two right sides together and cut into a triangle shape shown below. Sew together. Depending on your seam allowance, you may need to trim some excess fabric.
7. When you turn the pieces right side out, you will get a perfect corner piece for the pillow trim. Repeat for all four corners.
8. Pin the right sides of the pillow front and back together with the trim in-between. All of the raw edges should be aligned. Note: When pinning the pieces together, the two pieces of the envelop back will overlap 2-3″, creating the pocket.
9. Because of the fragile nature of the burlap, I ended up placing a thin layer of all-purpose glue over the seams to keep them from fraying and pulling.
10. Turn the pillows right side and stuff them with a pillow!
If you get stuck along the way, always feel free to contact me :)
What are you working on for the holidays? I have so many projects on my to-do list, I’ll be lucky if I complete half of them!
I’m sharing my rustic holiday pillows at these parties and The CSI Project! Hope you join us :)
the makeover looks great!! your pillows look lovely… i love the fact they were done freehand is a great touch… It would match the look your going for :-)
sewloveit recently posted..weekly glimpses – our life
I love the pillows, I’m in to anything burlap right now. I really like the christmas tree one so much I’ll be making one. Freehand? That means my lines won’t be very straight . Here’s hoping you’ll share your project over at Sunday’ Best. Sharing is a good thing.
Thanks Cathy! I LOVE burlap, it’s the theme for my holiday decor this year! I would love to see what you have been making with it. :)
love the blog header!!!!
Your website looks terrific. And I love those pillows. Not sure I’d trust myself to do them freehand but i might give it a try.
These are sew cute! {pun intended, I know I’m a nerd!} Pinned them, and your newest facebook follower. :)
Carrie recently posted..Christmas Tree 180 {Near Trashing to Dashing}
These are fantastic, Taryn! I may just have to rip this one off big time. I absolutely love the white against the scratchy burlap and the fun mod shapes you chose.
Visiting from Tip Me Tuesday, and I would love it if you’d stop by my neck of the woods for a visit! : )
~Abbie (www.fivedaysfiveways.com)
Abbie (Five days…5 ways) recently posted..Move-it Monday: Competition = Motivation
P.S. I’m following you now
Abbie (Five days…5 ways) recently posted..Move-it Monday: Competition = Motivation
What a cute idea!! I’m not very good at painting but I think i may be able to do the tree. It looks simple enough. I love your ideas. I’m now following you on pinterest. Love your gluten free board. I could always use more recipes.
Would love to see you DIY Home Sweet home.
Jamie
http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
P.S. More the Merrier Monday end tonight so stop by and link up if you have not already.
Jamie recently posted..Shabby Apple WINNER!!
Love the simplicity! Very pretty!
Abby recently posted..Adventures in Rugs and a GIVEAWAY!!!!!
These are great and add a whimsical touch to the home. Love how simple they are while making such a big statement. I am a new Fb and Twitter follower from Creations by Kara. Vicky from Mess For Less
Vicky recently posted..Kid Made Christmas Ornaments
These pillows are so cute! I love the edge you put on them. It adds so much. I would love for you to come link up to my party – http://www.literallyinspired.com I would love to share this with my readers.
I am hoping for a lot of snow too!
Ginger
Ginger recently posted..wytbw: i am almost 30
I love how these came out. I wish I could sew…I’ll have to pass it along for my mom to make for me. Her list is piling up!
I’d love for you to link up and share:
http://tutusandteaparties.blogspot.com/2011/11/pinteresting-linky-party-week-fifteen.html
Lauren recently posted..Guess What I’ve Been Up To
Wow – these are so amazing. I just found 50 lb. of burlap remnants for less than $60 – so I have a lot of raw material to work with. Ha ha, ha ha . . . .material. Eh, it’s late, I’m tired, that’s probably not really that funny.
What a great price for burlap! You can do so much with all of that! Thanks for stopping by :)
So cute! I just bought burlap today and this is the perfect project for it.
Jan recently posted..An Angel For My Christmas Tree
Oh good! I would love to see how yours turn out!
LOVE them! They are darling :)
Erin{LavenderandLemonDrops} recently posted..Industrial Metal Chairs
Thanks, Erin!
Very cute pillows, what a creative idea!
Joy recently posted..MY HIGH LOW PROJECT
Thanks, Joy!
Those are adorable!!
Thanks!
These are so pretty.This natural look goes with so many decors.Great tutorial.
auntie chris recently posted..1/2 Yard Cute Cupcake Dogs Quilt Craft Sew Flannel Fabric
WOW!!!!!! They are awesome!! Thanks for the tutorial! I’ll be trying this!
Christine recently posted..Felt Christmas Ornaments!!!
Thanks Christine! I would love to see how they turn out, will you send me a pic?
Those are really, really cute! I love the rusticness. The Christmas tree is so cool!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment! I love the name of your blog :)
I am loving these pillows!
katie recently posted..12 Days of Handmade Ornaments + Snowflake Confetti Ornament
Thanks, Katie!
Very clever – love how they turned out!!
patti recently posted..Santa Claus is Coming….
I love these! Simple, elegant and rustic at the same time. Thanks for the tutorial, too!
I’d love to invite you to share this project at my Thingamajig Thursday party going on now.
Alida
radcrafter.com
Alida recently posted..Thingamajig Thursday Party #4
These are absolutely GORGEOUS! Would love for you to link up at Find-Your-Craft Friday over on my blog! Thank you so much for sharing :) Have a great Friday!
Emily @ BabyBerry
Emily @ BabyBerry recently posted..Announcing new link party– Find Your Craft Friday!
Just beautiful! I love this idea for my very rustic home. Thank you for a great tutorial Taryn!
Genevieve
Gen recently posted..Hand Crafted Baby Bathrobe
I love burlap, it’s like my go-to fabric. Well done!
Taryn, these pillows are awesome! I am hosting my first EVAH link party this weekend. It is up and running now and I would love for you to come link up some of your projects!
Kim @ Too Much Time
http://kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com/search/label/get%20schooled%20saturday
Kim! Thank you so much for your note. I will definitely be linking up! I love your blog and am a follower :)
You’ve been featured over at House of Hepworths!
Congrats!
I love your pillows. You did such a great job. Thanks for linking to the Home Decor and Organizing Link Party. I featured these on my blog.
Leanne recently posted..$100 AmEx Gift Card Winner
These are absolutely adorable!!!
I would love for you to come link up at my blog this week starting today!
snap, craft & blog till your heart’s {content} @ a content housewife {blog}
Have a great week!
-Lianne
Lianne recently posted..{{Featured Favorites}} & new Monday link up!
Love this idea! I would love for you to link up to my new party, Monday Myriad Linky Party
Also, do you button swap?
katieoallred@gmail.com
Thank you so much for sharing last week on Thingamajig Thursday. Hope to see you again soon!
Alida
radcrafter.com
Alida recently posted..Thingamajig Thursday Party #5
I love your site still Taryn! Love the chevron and polka dot look!
Would love for you to link up at Find-Your-Craft Friday over on my blog! I could always use more recipes.
Kelly Glenn recently posted..Cancer Tattoos Tumblr
love your pillows. looks like i might be making a few this week! great web site too!
I love the look of these pillows! The snowflake one is my favorite, but I’m partial to snowflake designs anyway. I am definitely going to make some like these.
BethM recently posted..More Christmas Crafts to share
Wow! You are a Christmas crafting genius! So glad I found your project via Centsational Girl.
Please stop by for a visit to my blog. I am currently in the midst of a Gifts to Make series.
Be Merry and Bright!
Oh you are so sweet! I’m not sure I’m a crafting genius but I sure have fun doing it :). Happy holidays to you!
Always nice to see other people who love to sew like I do! Love the mitered border you added around the edge of this pillow, I think it finished it off nicely. Thanks for sharing!
Jules
Hope you had a great holiday weekend. I am loving these pillows! love your pillows.
Kimberley Mcfadden recently posted..Many Mops
Love these! Your burlap looks so much nicer/softer than mine, mine is pretty rough! Where did you get your burlap?
These are so cute! I love the snowflake one particularly! I have never painted on burlap, it sure turned out great! Saw you at the Burlap Challenge. Nice job!
Danni Baird recently posted..FAUX FALL CORN EARS – MAKE SOME!
Really love your pillows. So glad you featured them. How do you sew burlap with your machine? Mine just won’t sew it, jams every time even tho we adjusted the tension and stitch.
Because of my machine I”ll most likely make these pillows with painters cloth.
We’re only people in our neighborhood that do any decorating for Fall, Easter, etc and they do little for Christmas if at all.
I really love decorating for the seasons, gives some new color and different decorating to look at. I get very bored with things so love to make my own decorations. Some of friends think I’m weird because I change rugs and curtains for Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. I move my art around often also. I”ve always done decorating and crafting even when I had 4 small children.
Your blog is so delightful, so glad I found you, love your projects..
These are absolutely amazing and despite what you say we think they are perfect! Definitely on our to-do list. We will let you know if we give them a try. Thank you for the inspiration!
xox Liz and Lo {celestandpearl.blogspot.com}
If you are afraid to do the drawings freehand, just put a ruler right by where you are doing the drawing and follow the line, or something with a straight edge. It will give you a little more confidence maybe. I love the pillows. They are beautiful. I also wondered if you might want to use one long length of material and then just use a ____(this is where my memory fails me) basket-weave) to sew it together after you have put the pillow form in.