I love watching HGTVs show The Fixer-Upper with Chip and Joanna Gains. I really enjoy seeing Joanna's farmhouse style. They also own their own farmhouse, Magnolia Farms in Waco Texas, and the inside is every bit as cute as their makeovers with lots of white painted clapboard and vintage finds. Joanna has a number of pillows from Sugarboo Designs that I've seen in a few home boutiques, but they run rather pricy.
I decided to DIY something similar with two linen pillow covers from Debbie's Porch (on etsy), a typewriter font stencil pack, and a fabric marker from JoAnn Fabrics.
I started out by placing a piece of cardboard between the folds of the pillow so the ink wouldn't run through the fabric to the back of the pillow when stenciling.
Next I planned out what I wanted to say. I did a cheaper knock off of this pillow.
This actually reminded me of the book: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch--that always makes me tear up when I read it.
I decided to do something similar to the lines of the book (I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always) for the second pillow. I came up with "I like you x always."
I stenciled the design on the the pillow case with the fabric marker, being careful to firmly press down the stencil to hold it in place. I used a thicker fabric marker to begin with, but found that didn't work very well, so I went with a thinner fabric marker the second time (as you see pictured).
They turned out pretty well and very similar to the Sugarboo pillows for a lot cheaper! About $20 for the pillow cover (you could also make your own for even cheaper), $8 for the stencil, and $4 for the fabric marker. So about $32 for a pillow cover versus $120 for the inspiration pillow.
It's fun to add these pillow to our own version of a fixer-up. Our house doesn't need as much work as some of the properties on the show do, but it is still a work in progress having lived in the house less than two years.
Let me know if you watch the Fixer Upper as well, or are also a fan of making homemade throw pillows.
Anne with an E