Sit, Relax

I've been wanting to make these pillows for a while.

I was inspired by these from Ballard Designs. At $59 each, they weren't coming to live in my house any time soon. But I had linen, and I had a plan!

I started with two old pillows that I had on my sofa. Since I gave the sofa to my mother in law, the pillows had been sitting in my studio since February, begging me not to send them off with the next batch of Goodwill items. They finally won. The size was good, the fabric on the front was good. And I didn't realize I'd be blogging about them, so I didn't take a picture of them in their previous state. Ah, well.

My BFF gave me a bolt of lovely linen when she moved away (she has since moved back. And it's a good thing she did). I tore apart the old pillows and used them as a template to cut new pillow fronts. Then came the fun part.

I have these great magnetic foam letter stamps from here.

They're about three inches tall and sturdy enough that I haven't ruined them yet. And there's a lower case set. I want it. Badly.

 I was too lazy to wash brushes, so I pulled out my Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabbers in Mushroom, Black and Gold. Random dabbing on the foam letter gave me a cool, mottled look. I drew a line on my fabric using an air soluble marker, and working from the center out, stamped on my words.

I ironed the linen to heat set my words (I'm not washing these. Ever. So I didn't worry about using fabric paint), backed the linen with the old backing from my pillows for stability, then reconstructed the pillows, using the old front fabric as the new back fabric. You can see it here, on the left.

So now, my guests know the rules when they enter my sitting room. They must sit and relax. Maybe I should have made one that says "Amuse Me". I might have to do that on a floor cushion...

"U"topia

I am a huge fan of lettering. Fonts, scrapbook stickers, chipboard, paper mache, typography...I love lettering. A few years back, while at an acquaintance's house, I noticed her wall full of "G"'s. She smiled and referred to it as her "G-Spot."

Well, that did it. I had to lift this idea and incorporate it into something in my home.

Thus, my "U"topia was born. Wood, metal, fabric, vintage, handmade, storebought, you name it, it's up there. The collection has been growing for years. There's even one created as a sample for the art class that I teach to at risk youth.



 



I made the letter from Dixie cups, chipboard and packing tape. I got the inspiration from this tutorial. My very artistic daughter did the collage work.

My students have been making these architectural letters in class, and were even commissioned to make a custom word for a friend of mine! Here are some examples of their work:

For the school's Third Annual Peace Summit, some students are working on an Architectural Peace Sign, and the letters to spell out PEACE. A good use of the project, I think.