Red Cross Pillows

http://seaboldvintagemarket.bigcartel.com/product/red-cross-pillow-20-x-20

I tried. I did. I decided no more red. I did a good job too. Then I decided that red is a neutral (can you think of a color it doesn't go with???) and Christmas came...and it started to sneak back in. And then I saw these... Drooooool. And for a measly $125 a pillow. Run over and pick yourself up 3 or 4. Since I can't convince Mr Freckle Face to buy 2 pillows for $250, I had to make them myself. And mine needed to look old, worn and faded. Because let's face it,  they will look like that in not so much time anyway, so may as well give them an extra kick.

I started with 2 Ikea Ritva brown nubby-ish pillow slipcovers. They were cheap at $7 each. I had originally stenciled a number on one of them, and was ready to cover it up. The other one was  new. I used expert drafting tools to stencil my cross on the pillow - a kids note pad and a pencil. I know, serious precision instruments. I don't have a picture of this process because I wanted them. N. O. W. and pre-blog (I have a feeling this will be a trend for a while). After my perfectly imperfect cross was drawn, I started painting with some regular old red craft paint and fabric medium. At first I was measuring out ratios of the two. I wanted a worn look, so I didn't allow them to dry completely before I washed them. Well, apparently you have to let them dry for a lot longer than I thought. They kept coming out of the wash with no cross. So, (3x later), I finally just threw the medium and paint together (did I mention I wanted them N.O.W.) and let them dry longer this time.  Then, in the wash they went again.

 I LOVE how they came out. I already had the fabric medium, and the red paint (2oz) was about $2. $14 on the two covers - so for a whopping $16-ish buckeroos, I too had some vintage red cross pillows.  And when I tire of the red, I think they will look great in the boys room...I have some ideas for their room up my sleeve. Shhh. Don't tell Mister. 

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