I love Ikea. There, I said it – and its true! The prices are great, and I see potential in everything I buy there. I mean, check out my DIY Ikea Lamp Makeover and the Cheap & Easy Expedite Doors post.
The problem is, its all *potential*. Ikea is usually really modern (especially the well priced stuff) and that’s just not my style anymore. I like the juxtaposition of modern with traditional, modern things with a traditional twist or vice versa. So, while these orange pillows I bought for the living room were perfectly priced at $4, I knew they needed something to take the modern edge off. So, I did a pillow makeover!
I’ve seen some great posts around using bleach pens on t-shirts. I don’t have a bleach pen, but I figured Q-tips and gel bleach would work just the same to stencil on a pillow. I was right! Then, when I spotted this AWESOME leaf pattern stencil, I knew I had to find a bleachy way to work that magic on the other pillow. I LOVE how they turned out, and they were SO easy. I have half a mind to go buy a bunch more, so I can do more pillow makeovers!
What You Need:
- Bleach
- Q-tips or bleach pen
- $1 spray bottle
- stencil / cardstock to trace
- masking tape/ paper to mask off with.
How To Make It:
- Start with a clean, washed pillow.
- For the geometric pattern, fold some cardstock in 4ths and then cut in a design. Unfold and voila! A pretty shape to trace.
- Trace the stencil with a q-tip dipped in bleach. You only need enough to slightly wet the fabric. If you glob it on, you’ll get bumpy lines. Move the cardstock around until you get a full pattern.
- For the floral/random pattern, plop your stencil down on the pillow and mask off around it.
- Fill a spray bottle with bleach and lightly mist in the stencil area. Again, you want to slightly wet the fabric, not soak it.
- Move the stencil around the pillow and spritz. The design should show up after a few minutes.
- Wash and dry the pillows again. Done!!
I can’t believe how easy this was. I did them both in less than 20 min. The traced design took the longest, and if I did it again I might invest in a bleach pen. But I love the way the floral pillow makeover turned out, its not quite a repeated pattern, and its organic in its line thickness. Its the perfect compliment to take off the modern edge.
Kayla Domeyer
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These are lovely, I have had very limited success with trying the t shirt bleaching design idea, I might move onto cushions and see if it’s any more successful! Was your spray bleach neat or diluted at all?
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It was straight. I think a bleach pen would work well too.
That’s so creative! I’m going to try it..
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