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Thursday, January 3, 2013

No more boring pillowcases!

Have you ever looked at your bed when it is all made up and the shams and pillows are fluffed just right and think, "Something is missing - just not right."  

I have! I love winter time when I break out my red velvet/silk quilt and shams to add an additional layer to the bed.  Winter is my favorite season because I get to dress in layers and dream of snow!

Okay - back to the bed.  With my 2 shams placed in front of each pillow, the pillowcases just seem to be there ~ don't seem important.  After reading this post by Centsational Girl, where she stamped tea towels, my thoughts went back to my pillowcases. As a child I had such sweet pillowcases that my great grandmother had embroidered the ends of and tatted on the edges of some  ~ I cherished them.  So the next thing I knew, I grabbed a set of my white pillowcases and a few supplies.


1 - pillowcases, of course

2 - fabric medium by Martha Stewart

3 -paint of chosen color by Martha Stewart (I love her paints due to their consistency and coverage.)

4 - some cardboard - to put between the layers on the end of pillowcases as I stamped

5 - roller brush and small pan as well as a small paint brush 

6 - a damp paper towel - I always have them handy!

7 - scrap paper to test the stamp with paint on it first


First of all, I placed a piece of cardboard between the layers at the edge of the pillow case where I was going to start stamping.  Next I mixed the paint and fabric medium according to the directions on the bottle with the small paint brush in the roller pan.

Once I rolled the little roller in the paint, I rolled it on the stamp and tested it on paper to make sure the coverage was correct.  I also tested to make sure that I applied the correct amount of pressure on the stamp to get a clear stamp impression.  There aren't second chances in stamping!

Starting at one edge of the pillowcase, I stamped the impression on the fabric, rolled a new coat of paint on the stamp, then rotated the stamp.  I do this since the design lent itself to having the image snug against itself.  I continued with this pattern - a b a b a b ... until I reached the end.  Oh - I did have t move my cardboard in order for it to be under the stamp at the other end.

Last, I pulled the cardboard out and moved the pillowcase to dry while I started the next one. Here is what I ended up with:


After I let them dry overnight, I ironed them to set the paint.  (See the directions on the bottle of fabric medium.)  Now look at my bed ~ it now looks finished.  My pillowcases stand out and complete the look.



Have you ever thought about trying something like this?  Maybe the corner of napkins, the edge of a tea towel, or around the edge of a napkin to be a bread basket liner?  




Sweet dreams from my home to yours!

:)


1 comment:

  1. Your pillowcases look wonderful - they complete the bed :)

    ReplyDelete