Last month, we purchased new furniture. The couch and loveseat came with two beautiful bright yellow throw pillows. I like yellow but, it just doesn’t go with my home decor color palette. I spent A LOT of time on Pinterest searching for fun ideas on how to cover these pillows. End the end, I decided to chalk paint pillowcases for them!
I took a painters drop cloth that I had been using prior as a tablecloth. I gave the drop cloth a good wash with hot water with mild soap. Once it was dry, I laid it out and cut eight pieces of fabric that were a little larger than my pillow size. I matched two pieces together and pinned around three edges. Then I did a quick stitch around those three sides. I wanted the outside of my pillows to have a rustic look so I left the pillow like this. If you want a more polished look, you could flip the case inside out.
Next, I took my two containers of Rustoleum Chalk Paint in Soothing Blue and Icy Gray and diluted them. I used a one-third paint to water ratio. You want to dilute it as thin as you can make it, without losing the color’s intensity. The more you dilute it, the softer (texture) the paint will be on your fabric.
Just to make sure nothing seeped through, I placed sheets of bubble wrap (it’s what I had on hand) between the top and bottom pieces of fabric. Then we began painting. I really wanted my daughters to have a large role in this project. I wanted this to be another fun way to add their art to our home. I gave them a few suggestions, but then let them use their creativity. After they painted one side, we let the paint dry for a day. Then we flipped the cases and painted the other side.
Once they were completely dry, I inserted our new yellow pillows and sewed the last side shut. Tada! We have custom pillows that were made by my in-house artists! I LOVE THEM!
This project was so much fun and it added charm to our new furniture. I am so glad we did this!
Have you ever chalk painted fabric? Do you have a project you would like to try this on?
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Hello, my name is Laurie. My family and I live near the Oregon coast. When we aren’t at work, in school, or on the volleyball court, we enjoy traveling, cheering for our favorite sports teams, playing outdoors, and checking off items on our bucket list. We are lucky in that both sets of our parents, as well as our siblings and their families, live within an hour of us. We get together often to help one another out, celebrate milestones, and go on adventures together.
This post currently has 13 responses.
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Rosie
They did come out so nice! I never thought of using chalk paint like this. I started throw pillows for my living room, too, still have a ways to go.
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Barrie
I love it! The colors are perfect with the couch and the walls. I can’t believe how easy they were to make too!
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I love it! The colors are perfect with the couch and the walls. I can’t believe how easy they were to make too!
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I love it! The colors are perfect with the couch and the walls. I can’t believe how easy they were to make too!
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I love it! The colors are perfect with the couch and the walls. I can’t believe how easy they were to make too!
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I love it! The colors are perfect with the couch and the walls. I can’t believe how easy they were to make too!
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Sarah L
And everyone will have ownership of how lovely these turned out.
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Jeanine Carlson
I can’t believe how absolutely adorable these pillows came out! You’d have been hard pressed to find pillows that matched so well!
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Amy D
Wow! These turned out great an I loved the colors that you used. They look so professional. The key is really to dilute the paint. Great job!
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Lauryn R
Your pillow cases turned out absolutely beautiful! I love the chalk paint, and the rustic look of the fabric and sewing job. Also, that you involved your girls in the process as well, that is so special. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this, you have definitely given me inspiration!
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ellen beck
This is a great idea for throw pillows! I honestly havent worked much with chalk paints, but it sounds very forgiving and easy to work with. I like how the girls got to make them and do them with you. I also like how you could really tie the pillow into your colors!
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shannon fowler
This is such an awesome idea! Its unique and creative plus it looks like it would be a ton of fun.
They turned out so well. I may try it. You have a lovely home.