pillows in bloom!

over the many years that i've been decorating 'on the cheap',

i've sewn, hot glued, and simply tied on a LOT of pillow covers.

 recently, some old photos reminded me that i have also embellished pillow covers.

it's a lovely way to bring flowers into your home even if spring hasn't arrived yet!

so i grabbed some of the old photos, and quickly pulled together an embellished pillow

so i can share this fun idea with you...

continue reading to see more of this plus two more bloomin' projects!

i looked around my studio to see what i had on hand 

that coordinated with this existing pillow fabric - and honestly, it wasn't a lot!

i grabbed a few ribbons from my stash, dug into a box of old jewelry left from the hwF shop, 

and pulled a few silk flowers from my decor bins... then i went to work.

silk seam binding ribbons drip from the bouquet, 

and i used that glorious chartreuse thick velvet ribbon to make a rose. 

a tiny bit of vintage chenille stem was bent into a leaf cluster.

a silk gerbera daisy was dressed up with a tiny rhinestone star earring in the center,

and a silk poppy lies on its side near a vintage button 'bow tie'.

the pillow in these photos is what i'd call a 'mock up' - it's not complete. it's a 'test'.

to be honest, i simply pinned the flowers and ribbons onto the pillow as an example for you.

this isn't the most elegant or permanent decor accent, but it was a fun creative exercise!

now, for an ELEGANT take on this idea, 

let's look at one of my favorite past pillow projects:

(yes, this photo may look familiar.

this is my photo of my 'Retreat Home' booth at a vintage show in 2010.

another photographer took exactly the same photo, and it appeared in a magazine back in 2012.

you can read about that - and see the pro photographer's lovely image - in this past post.)

this pillow embellishment was so easy, because it really wasn't attached to the pillow at all!

that light damask fabric is a 'sash' that simply wraps around the middle of the gold silk pillow...

i wrapped it around the center of the bolster pillow, then held it closed with a few stitches.

it fit tightly enough so that it won't turn on the pillow,

but would slide to the end so it could be removed and the pillow could be safely washed.

after the sash was on the pillow, i used hot glue to attach the details -

which ranged from satin ribbon roses with salvaged earring centers

and one perfectly aged vintage millinery rose

to vintage velvet and gossamer ribbons 'dripping' from the center of the flowers.

a sparkling vintage rhinestone flower pin was the finishing touch.

another past version of a flower embellished pillow 

has the floral details attached directly to the vintage olive green damask pillow itself:

the 'bouquet' here consists of more satin ribbon roses, a few tiny silk ranuculus blooms,

as well as other flowers made from fringed yarn and velvet ribbon - 

finished off with vintage beaded earrings and buttons for their centers.

thinner ribbons 'drip' from the arrangement, with a few tiny charms are tied to their ends,

while several vintage buttons are added like falling flower petals.

a vintage rhinestone butterfly pin and a vintage enamel flower pin finish it off.

(granted, this version can't be washed...) 

on a rainy spring day, 

a floral embellished pillow on your bed is the next best thing to a blooming garden!

this idea can also be used to embellish gift wrapping - Mothers' Day is coming!

see how i used vintage trims to embellish presents in this post

(which also appeared in a magazine ;) )