DIY Front Gate Pillow Hack

by Mish Volonino

This past Spring I was breezing through the pages of Front Gate and fell in love with an outdoor "Elephant" throw pillow. I could to believe how much they were charging for one pillow. They want $149.00 for just one pillow. Whaaaaat? That's just crazy!
DIY Queen gets her mojo on!

diy front gate pillow hack, crafts, home decor, living room ideas

This is the $149.00 Elephant pillow. Hmmmmm! Well I made my own and I'm going to share my process?

So I started off with a basic pillow form and drop cloth fabric. I searched for a nice elephant graphic on the net, imported into my photo program and resized it. I printed it on fabric transfer paper. You can purchase transfer fabric sheets online, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or JoAnnes. The picture below shows the design on the drop cloth.

You follow the directions of ironing the printed transfer paper onto your fabric. If there is any wording you must make sure you flip your graphic before ironing it on.

At this point, I used a combination of fabric and acrylic paint to bring life to the design. Once the paint dried, I added Swarovski crystals to give it a little bling. This really isn't necessary but I love anything that sparkles.

Below is a photo of the painted image

Once everything is set, it's time to sew your pillow and close it up.

In the finished pillow I decided to add some more designs on each corner to make it a little more intricate. I added some more colored paint to match elephant design too.

This truly is one of my favorite pillows. This is such a great DIY process for giving beautiful handmade gifts and making one of a kind home decor. I hope you have fun with this little tutorial.

I make all my pillows. To me, the possibilities are endless.

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2 comments

Miriam Illions on Nov 10, 2015
I LOVE this!

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MSLady1125 on Mar 31, 2022

Great idea!! I love pillows and I love to change them out from time to time. This would make it so much easier to have what I want, and at a price I can afford!! You did a beautiful job on that pillow!! I love elephants and your pillow turned out beautiful!!

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