Some of you may have spotted the new Martha Stewart line by Plaid available at Michael’s. It’s been quite the buzz on the blogs lately. Several bloggers, including myself, were asked to try out the new products and tools and boy, did we get a big box of goodies to try. Here’s what I made…
…a hand painted monogram pillow out of an antique linen tea towel. (This towel was not in pristine condition, so don’t fret.)
I used the fabric medium and mixed it with equal parts paint. This hand sponge applicator is ideal for stenciling, so I put it to good use on this project.
A tip when stenciling fabric – make sure to put something under the area you’re painting, so it doesn’t bleed through. I usually use tin foil.
I then selected my stencils and punched them out.
These are from the Serif Stencil Set.
Using a ruler to find the center point, I lined up the stencil.
I held it tightly in place and gently pressed on the sponge to release the paint. Don’t push too hard or you will get major bleeding under the stencil.
I rotated the stencil to complete the frame. Work carefully to prevent smudging.
I then added the center monogram, a capitol “P”.
…and then a lower case “m” and “v”. At this point, it looks a bit sloppy, but that is not uncommon with stencils, especially on fabric. Since these stencils are made out of heavy paper, I think in the future I will trace the design with a pencil and paint it in by hand. But, no worries, we’ll get this looking sharp.
I used a 1.0 liner brush to fill in the gaps and give it a sharp look.
I also added a pop of apple green between the gray lines.
Once the paint was dry, which only took about 15 minutes, I kept the tea towel folded in half with the right-sides-out, sewed each side closed and inserted an 18″ x 18″ feather pillow form.
The bottom of the towel has this great crocheted details, so I just threaded three ribbons through to tie the bottom closed.
Ta-da!
Here’s a peek at some of the other brushes and tools available…
Awesome stuff.
See you tonight for Furniture Feature Friday, posted at 10:00 pm EST. I also have a special event going on tomorrow!
29 Responses
I love your monogramed pillow! It came out wonderful. I haven't used any of the Martha products on fabric yet… planning out some cool fabric projects, though!
came out super cute! thinking totes for halloween! now to find some coupons! xoxo's nancy
Such a sweet pillow! I love the hint of green you added, and how simply you tied it closed with the ribbon.
I think it looks great! Big impact!
Jenny
http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com
Really great idea, Marian!
Love your masthead too.
Adore the pillow, wonderful surprises everyday!
Hello Marian,
I am seeing these new paints all over the blogoshere!
Helpful hint:
Back in the early 90's I worked for a stencil design artist and one of the first things she taught me was to barely load your brush and work with as little paint as possible. It looks like that applicator releases way too much paint and that's why so much bleed under occurred.
I would stick with a stencil brush…here that Martha?
Love that you managed to still get a pretty pillow out of it….but we already knew that ;->
Janet xox
http://theemptynest-janet.blogspot.com/
Thanks for telling us about the monogram kit! I love the results, I'll have to try it!!
thanks for inspiring me to get working on a special project! It is a gift for one of my favorite bloggers. I can hardly wait to get back to civilization to see this line at Michaels. Right now, the nearest Michaels is 120 miles away. Ann
I think this is a great idea for an upcoming party i am throwing. thanks so much for the inspiration.
Rashon aka Mr. Goodwill Hunting
Bonne idée! Très sympa!
Bises
Beautiful! Simply beautiful! I want one! LOL!!!!
Must get busy!
I love your pillow! I also was thinking about this as a tote bag embellishment for teacher gifts for Christmas gifts…a teacher never has enough bags~
🙂 great job!
I've already bought some of her new paint collection, but was wondering what you need to do the fabric painting because it didn't explain it well.
You make it look so easy! I love how it turned out…
ciao
Love this. 🙂
Super cute! 🙂
Wonderful, as usual, Marian!!!…I love that you used a tea towel…I have a load of these from my great-grandmother – you've inspired me to actually do something with them…;) OH! And I just picked up the latest issue of Cottages & Bungalows…loved your dining room/farm table photo in there!!! Girl, you are behind amazing…
Thanks, great idea and it came out so cute. I am going to try it on some luggage tags I am making for a crew taking a missions trip to Zambia.
What a fun project!
What a cute pillow! Love that little pop of green.
I love your pillow! I am a monogram freak and will be at Michaels tomorrow to try a new creation of some sort??? Hmmmm – need to ponder what it will be! Love your blog!
Thanks for this post!
Cute pillow and love the Martha products.
Vanessa
So cute! I am making a burlap runner for my dining room table and was just trying to figure out how to embellish it! This is perfect… I just have to run to Michael's now!!!
What does the "V" stand for?
This turned out great! I think since I have basically ALL of these supplies…I should give it a try. Maybe monogrammed pillows for my girl's beds. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Simply fabulous!! Love the stencil!!
And that tea towel is gorgeous! Great pillow!
Hugs
SueAnn
I bow to you Marian – you are amazing! Can't wait to meet you! xo
So so pretty! I love how simple and classy it is. Wonderful job!
xoxox
Jen