Hand Painted Fox Pillow
This whimsical woodland fox pillow is hand-painted to add charm and fancy to your home decor. It’s perfect for a child’s room or nursery, but it’s great as a pop of childlike fun to any room in the house.
I know there are a lot of crafters out there who think they haven’t an ounce of artistic ability. They can make amazing crafts that would make your head spin, but when it comes to drawing or painting, they swear up and down that they just can’t do it. But the truth is that anyone truly can harness their artsy side.
HOWEVER!
I understand that it can be daunting, and more than that, it can be time consuming, and it can stop us even wanting to try. To than end, I highly suggest starting out by doing a little cheat/trick. Go to google and search up free clip art of whatever you’re looking to draw or paint, and trace it up or print it out onto whatever craft you’re doing. It makes it SO much easier to follow along. In this case, search up “free fox clip art” to get you started.
Materials:
- White pillow cover
- Pillow insert
- Paint Brushes
- Orange craft paint
- Light metallic gold craft paint
- Dark brown craft paint
- Black craft paint
- White craft paint
- Turquoise craft paint
- Yellow craft paint
- Red craft paint
- Green craft paint
- Wax paper
- Pencil
- Paper towels
Instructions:
Put sheets of wax paper inside the plain, white pillow cover to prevent paint from bleeding through.
Use the pencil to sketch out your fox drawing. Draw the fox on the lower left hand corner of the pillow to leave room for the other elements.
Add a curvy line behind the fox to represent a mountain. Sketch three pine trees on the right side of the fox on the top of the mountain. Make a circle above the fox for the sun and two flowers next to the fox. (use a light hand with the pencil so that you can erase any mistakes that you make and so the lines do not show under the paint.
TIP: Do not mix water with the paint and use dry brushes. Dip the brush in the paint and then wipe off excess paint onto a paper towel. You don’t want the paint to go on heavy. You want to see white underneath and see brush strokes.
TIP: I dipped a clean, dry paintbrush straight into the paint each time I did each different color. You can pour paint out onto a palette or plate if you like.
Paint the pillow in steps. One, you paint the objects that are farther away first and the ones that are closer to the front last so that the paint looks right. Two, you want things to dry in stages so that you don’t mix the paint colors. Start with the light gold color of the fox, the turquoise line for the mountain, the trees, the sun and one of the flowers. Let dry a few hours.
Paint in the orange on the fox, the brown boots, and the other flower. Let dry.
Color in the black parts of the fox. Let dry. (At this point, if you want to use some white to go over any spots that need highlighting like the fox’s eyes and nose, add some dabs where needed.) Let dry!
Pull the finished pillow case over the filler pillow and zip closed.
And there we are. I love the handmade look of this cushion. The charm comes from the fact that it looks so rustic and unfinished. I thought about outlining it in black paint to give it a more cartoonish look, but I decided against it in the end. I quite liked the folk-art look as it was.
I think this is a wonderful craft that kids can do. It’s basically like a coloring page that lasts forever. In fact, you could buy fabric paint instead of craft paint if you wanted to ensure it lasts even longer. As it is be sure not to run it through the washing machine. Spot clean it only.
I think I will definitely have to try this again. We’ll see what other fun design we can come up with. Maybe something botanical next time!
What do you think? Will you try this with your little ones?
How to Make a Hand-Painted Fox Pillow
Equipment
- Paint Brushes
- Pencil
- Paper Towel
- Wax Paper
Materials
- White pillow cover
- Pillow insert
- Orange Craft Paint
- Light Metallic Gold Craft Paint
- Dark Brown Craft Paint
- Black Craft Paint
- White Craft Paint
- Turquoise Craft Paint
- Yellow Craft Paint
- Red Craft Paint
- Green Craft Paint
Instructions
- Put sheets of wax paper inside the plain, white pillow cover to prevent paint from bleeding through.
- Use the pencil to sketch out your fox drawing. Draw the fox on the lower left hand corner of the pillow to leave room for the other elements.
- Add a curvy line behind the fox to represent a mountain.
- Sketch three pine trees on the right side of the fox on the top of the mountain.
- Make a circle above the fox for the sun and two flowers next to the fox.
- Begin painting the pillow in steps. Start with objects that are farther away first, and let it dry in stages so that paint colors don't mix. Also try to move from lightest colors to darkest colors.
- Start with the light gold color of the fox, the turquoise line for the mountain, the trees, the sun and one of the flowers. Let dry for fifteen minutes or use a hair dryer to speed the process.
- Paint in the orange on the fox, the brown boots, and the other flower. Let dry.
- Color in the black parts of the fox. Let dry.
- At this point, if you want to use some white to go over any spots that need highlighting like the fox’s eyes and nose, add some dabs where needed. Let dry!
- Pull the finished pillow case over the filler pillow and zip closed.
Notes
- If you are having trouble drawing a fox, google “free fox clip art” and print out a picture you like to use as a guide.
- Use a light hand with the pencil so that you can erase any mistakes that you make and so the lines do not show under the paint.
- Do not mix water with the paint, and use dry brushes.
- Dip the brush in the paint and then wipe off excess paint onto a paper towel. You don’t want the paint to go on heavy. You want to see white underneath and see brush strokes.
- Be sure to use a clean, dry paintbrush each time you use a different color to avoid muddying the colors.
