I am a girl who always loves a little glam, so these Anthropologie knock off gold dot pillows are calling my name. This easy DIY from Heather at Brit + Co starts with two inexpensive white pillow covers, gold paint, and a foam pouncer. Basically, it’s as simple as dipping the pouncer in the paint and then dotting away. I love that these pillows have all the glitz and glam of their Anthro counterparts, but without the expense.
Here’s the full story…
What You Need
You’re making pillow cushions. And just because they’ll be glitzy when you’re done doesn’t mean you have to show up with elaborate materials. Basic works!
Use a simple white cotton pillow cover, like the kind IKEA sells or this one from Amazon. You can use whatever size you want, but you’ll do best to stick to 16″, 18″ or 20″ pillows so your gold pattern has a chance to make a statement.
For your pillow insert, Heather suggests either feather or a down-alternative. This is really up to you. You can even transform an existing pillow you already have by re-purposing it for this project. Give it a new look, if you will.
Next, a single bottle of metallic gold acrylic paint will do the trick.
And for tools, it’s pretty straight forward. To make your gold shapes, you can simply use a sponge pouncer. See below for more info and tips on pouncers. Additionally, have a tape measure on hand so you can measure out your spacing in a more uniform pattern.
The Steps?
It doesn’t get much easier. Just lay your covers out flat and give them a once-over with your iron. This gives you a flat canvas to work with to paint on your pattern.
Heather then suggests measuring and using painter’s tape as a guide to ensure your pattern is consistently laid out ahead of time. Just take off each piece of tape and put down your gold dot row by row. She has a nice little animation on her site showing just how this works.
Once you let it dry, you throw in your pillow insert and you’re all set.
Sponge Pouncers Anyone?
Sponge pouncers (also called foam pouncers or sponge stipplers) are a convenient way to stamp or “dab” paint evenly onto surfaces. They’re used mostly in stenciling, and they work perfectly for this gold dot project since they are circular.
You can purchase a set of these, such as the ones from the ever popular Martha Stewart brand. They work great, but you may not need to purchase a whole set if you don’t think you can use them again. They are supposed to be easy to wash after use (just soap and running water), but some crafty folks complain they really only work for one use, like a lot of foam paint brushes.
What’s great about pouncers is their ease-of-use. Just dab from a shallow tray of paint and press onto your desire area. The handle makes it a no brainer tool for creating the 80-100 dots you’ll need for your pillows.
Don’t want to spend the money for pouncers? You can DIY these too! This video shows how you can make your own if you’re up for it. It will save you money, but it may be difficult to get that perfect round shape you’re after on these pillows.
Best Tips for This Project
Heather has some simple but valuable advice when you’re creating this pillow cover. First, she says to pour paint into your tray away from your work area. It’s just too easy for splatters or bubbles to make their way unintentionally onto your stark white pillow cover.
Also, when pre-defining your pattern area, be sure to avoid seams on the cover. Just measure out your dots so as they line up, they begin and end between the seams.
Before painting your pillows with the pouncers, do a few practice stamps on a paper towel or smooth rag. This gets you acquainted with how much paint to get on your sponge and how hard to press. Get it perfect first, then you can get your pillows looking really sharp.
See the Full DIY Tutorial
The original inspiration for this project came from Anthropologie’s Luminous Dots Pillow. For the full tutorial and more pictures, check out Heather’s post at Brit + Co. She really hit on something with her glitzy, but somehow neutral pillow covers. A knock off going from almost $60 per pillow to less than half that. Now that’s some glamorous savings.
