More Pottery Barn Knock Offs

Alicia...this one's for you.
See these guys?

They are from the Pottery Barn. Simple, elegant, chic...if you don't mind me sayin' so. I love them. I want them. But, frankly, I am too big a cheapskate to buy them.
And anyway, they're sold out, so I couldn't buy them even if I wanted to.
I can't say for certain how much they were originally, but I dare say they weren't less than $30 a piece.
Always willing and ready for a decorating challenge, I decided to see if it was possible to replicate the beauties. I'll let you be the judge of whether it was a success or not.
The first thing I did was run to IKEA. I had seen online that they carried white, linen pillow covers. (The pillows from PB are a cotton/linen blend and I wanted to stay as true to them as I could). They were $6 and I bought four, for a grand total of $24. (Still less than what you would have spent on one from PB).

Everything else I needed for the project I had at home. (black paint, stippling brush and garbage bag).
I made my own stensil using a font on the computer that I enlarged. I tried to choose a font that was similar to the one used on the PB sample. I traced the image onto heavy duty cardstock then cut the numbers out.

Before you start stenciling on your numbers it is a good idea to put a piece of plastic in between the two layers of your case (I used a garbage bag). You don't want the color bleeding through.

Next, center the number onto the pillow cover...

then using a stippling brush apply black paint all over inside of the stensil. (You can go here to learn how to stipple).


As you stipple the paint on, be sure to keep your hands clean and free of any awol paint splatter or accidental paint transfers. This might require you to constantly wipe your hands on a wet rag (like I had to). There's nothing worse than getting an unsightly and permanent paint smudge on your project.
Once you have entirely filled in your stensil, peel it back quickly and carefully.
Then let you pillow cover sit until the paint has had ample time to dry.

Once the paint is no longer wet, you can remove the plastic and insert your pillow form.

Then place them somewhere you can admire them often.

These pillows were super easy to make and super cheap to boot. In total I spent $24 and it only took about an hour to make all four. I love them and hope you do too.