Painting your own cushions can transform a room, save you money, and calm you down (art reduces stress). Fabric paint is straightforward to use, and you don't need to be van Gogh to produce gorgeous accessories for your rooms and porches.
1 Use a cushion made from 100 percent cotton, if possible. This fabric has a tight weave, meaning that the paint won't spread as easily and you'll get a sharper image.
2 Check the side of the paint bottle to be sure that the paint is suitable for the cushion's fabric. There are many kinds of fabric paint available--traditional fabric paints that require brushes, paint pens (good for details), spray-on paint, outdoor paints (for patio or porch cushions), thin paints that work like dye, and thicker paints that create actual texture on the cushion.
3 Place old newspapers beneath the cushion that you plan to paint. If you are just painting the cushion cover, put cardboard between the layers of the cover so that the fabric paint doesn't leak through and stain the other side.
4 Keep a damp cloth nearby to wipe your hands. Be careful of paint on your fingers--it will get on the fabric before you know it.
5 Blot any mistakes immediately with an alcohol pad, baby wipes or a clean brush. Make sure that you don't accidentally blot and smear the main design.
6 Use a stencil if your artistic skills aren't quite up to par. Stencils are especially good for flowers, leafy designs, letters and sharp edges. Press the stencil firmly onto the cushion, and use a brush that's small enough to fit inside the stencil's holes.
7 To create a watercolor effect, dampen the cushion slightly before painting on it, so that the colors flow into each other. Do your own take on Monet's water lilies with this technique, or draw your best impression of a sunset.
8 Keep in mind that big, simple designs--stripes, polka dots or geometric shapes--in bright colors look great on outdoor cushions or casual indoor pillows. Smaller shapes and unusual, trendy colors (like chartreuse or chocolate brown) on a dark fabric background work well for more sophisticated rooms.
9 Let your cushion dry for 24 hours once you are finished painting. After it is dry, place a cloth over the design and run a hot iron across it to set the fabric paint.
