DIY Christmas Pillow Cases for Under $5

I LOVE a good DIY project, especially one that is cheap and easy. I have these ugly throw pillows on my front porch, but they’re in good shape and I hate to buy something new just because what I already have isn’t my favorite. However, they desperately needed a makeover, and while I was already in the Christmas decorating mood, I figured I should just go for it. Since I already had the pillows, this project cost less than $5 and made such a huge difference. I love how cozy my porch looks now.

If you’d like to give this easy makeover a try, I’ve written up some quick directions. Please let me know if you do this–I’d love to see pics of your projects.

Materials:

• Throw pillows (I used some I already had)
• Canvas drop cloth (this one was $4.98 at Lowe’s)
• Sewing machine (or you could hand stitch if you’d rather)
• Sewing supplies—cutting mat, rotary cutter, tape measure, thread
• Cutting machine or scissors
• Construction paper
• Paint
• Paint brush

Directions:

Step one: Measure your pillows and prepare your drop cloth to create your pillow cases. These are just simple envelope pillow covers. Here are some easy instructions for sewing a pillow cover in case you need to know.

Step two:  Sew your pillow covers.

Step three: Iron well. I love Magic Sizing. These drop cloths are super wrinkly, so the Magic Sizing really helps to get them smooth.

Step four: This is where I break out my trusty Silhouette Cameo. I create 12×12 canvases and make my words look the way I want them before cutting them out. I used scrapbooking cardstock that’s 12×12 for this project. I used three sheets–one for each pillow cover. If you don’t have a cutting machine, you could easily hand cut your words.

Step five: Time to paint! Just put the cut out word on your pillow cover and use the paint of your choice (mine’s just simple craft paint). I’ve also used spray paint for this part, but it’s just a little messier. Either works fine, though.

Step six: Let your paint dry and then stuff your old pillows into their pretty new covers. All done!

This super quick and easy project took me about an hour and a half, start to finish. I had a sweet 10 year old helper and a few interruptions from a curious 15 month old. This is a great one to let your kids help with, especially if you’re not going for perfection, and the low cost makes it easy to do for every season. I’m thinking snowmen for January…this could be addictive!

Feel free to share this DIY project and remember to show me your finished pillow covers. Enjoy!