I started by slipping in the cardboard insert to make sure the paint doesn’t soak through and stain the backside of the cover.

Then, I lined up the cover in the center of the stencil frame. There are little recessions on the bottom to allow you to place the zipper.

Now, I could place the stencil on top. Let’s be honest. Stenciling can be tricky. The hardest part is getting the stencil lined up perfectly and making sure it doesn’t move. The Paint-A-Pillow frame helps with that. Someone decided to put these brass tabs on the frame that slide through openings in the stencil, aligning it perfectly.

Once the tabs were bent down, that bad boy wasn’t moving anywhere.

We are looking to move soon and in my new house, I plan to incorporate a lot more color. The paint that comes with the kit is pretty nice. It’s fabric specific paint that supposedly doesn’t get crunchy when it dries.

Another huge key to stenciling success is to use very little paint. I made sure to blot the heck out of my brush before pouncing onto the pillow cover. Since my stencil design had small details and I was using multiple colors, I used the small brush provided. If I wanted the design all the same color, I probably would have used a small roller.

Once I filled out the whole stencil, it looked like this. Kinda like my sons’ kindergarten homework.

I pulled the stencil off, and set it to the side. Next, I had to wait for the paint to dry completely on the pillow cover. Since I used so little paint, it didn’t take very long. Once dry. I flipped the cover over, put it back in the frame and realigned the stencil. It was easy to copy the same color pattern on the second side since there was still paint on the stencil.

Once everything was dry, I inserted the pillow form and zipped her up. Voila! A custom throw pillow.

I’ll admit, when I first opened the kit I thought the pillow form would be way too small and the cover would look baggy. It actually fits like a glove.

I’m excited to make a few more for my future living room, but in the meantime this one rests happily on one of my son’s beds.

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