Our Fall Back Patio, and a Painted Initial Burlap Pillow Tutorial

All through the dog days of summer we wait for the weather to turn crisp and cool, when we can start enjoying fires on our back patio. This year I decided to change up the seating, move the vintage iron sofa elsewhere, and use a couple of our Adirondack chairs out here.

Curling up in a comfy chair, with a roaring fire and a cozy blanket, what could be better?

We built this patio after installing our pool in 2000. All of this brick was reclaimed from a house that was being leveled down the street. Maurie hauled it load by load, in the trunk of my old 2-door Acura. We started this 10 x 10 patio without really knowing if we even had enough. Good thing that we made it, because we found out after that these antique bricks go for over $1 each, and we were recovering from unexpected expenses that happened while building the pool. I think we finished with only 10 bricks left over. There are over 500 in this little patio!

But on to the pillows! You will want some of these for yourself once you see how simple they are to do.

I bought a good amount of burlap at JoAnn's when I had a 60% off coupon last week. I wanted it to be soft, so I washed it. Yes, I did! With laundry detergent and some baking soda to help with the burlap-ey odor. Soaked it for a while then spun on delicate. I laid the length of fabric outside to dry, then tossed it in the dryer for 10 minutes, twice. It kept balling up so I had to shake it out a few times. Do this outside, believe me. Also, I did hem the cut edges first so they wouldn't fray like crazy. I'm so happy with it now, it's super soft, and doesn't have a bad smell at all.

This "H" was cut out of card stock with my Cricut. It would work just as well to print your initial using a font that you like, then cut around the outline. I pinned it on and traced around with a black Sharpie.

Then filled it in! I had a really complicated way of picking the paint I used -- it was in my stash of craft paint. I painted the edges first, then filled in the rest. It dried in about one hour.

A quick stitch and I was done! Easy, easy. I did use another piece of burlap to line the front piece so the pillow wouldn't show through. No fancy piping for these pillows, though. The squirrels will have them nibbled in no time, along with my pumpkins, so I made this as simple as I could. 

Unfortunately we won't be able to be outside without our citronella yet. I gussied up this pail with a little more burlap, tied on with jute twine.

 

I sure hope you will try some of these initial pillows for your patio! Enjoy your beautiful fall days, and evenings, where ever you may be.

 

I'm joining Yvonne's Tutorials Tips and Tidbits at StoneGable

Rhoda's Outdoor It's Fall Y'all Party at Southern Hospitality

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Roeshel's DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff

Comments

[Judy Clark]

Your patio looks so nice. I love your initial pillows. Looks great!!

Judy

[Katie Mansfield]

I can't wait for fire pit weather!! Love, love the pillows. Great tip for washing burlap.
Katie

[Shenita]

Love your patio! Your pillows turned out beautifully! Can't wait to get out and decorate mine this weekend!

[Stacey]

That looks fantastic. I love the pillows and the whole setting. Your backyard always looks like a cozy and fun place.

[kim]

I love this seating area and cute pillows.

[Sunny Simple Life]

What a wonderful spot to curl up with some morning coffee.

[Karen Harper]

Oh my goodness it all looks beautiful.

[Willow]

The pillows are so cute. What a clever idea.

[Amanda - Small Home Big Start]

Love the burlap billows! They look great with the plaid. A perfect spot to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee :)

[Laura Ingalls Gunn]

Oh this is fall perfection at its best! What a cozy scene.

While we don't have much fall here in Phoenix I would love for you to stop by to see what I did find.

Have a blessed day!

[Rebekah]

This is adorable! I love it!

[Brenda Kula]

I'd love to have that patio, Andrea! Or the pillows. Burlap makes me sneeze. Maybe not if it was washed first.
Brenda

[Erin {Home Everyday}]

This is so cozy and wonderful! It makes me want to grab my favorite book and read in one of those cozy chairs on a crisp fall day. Thanks for the inspiration. We usually start to bring our outdoor chairs into storage this time of year, but now I'm thinking I will leave them out for a few weeks, and enjoy them with a cozy blanket and pillow.

[Crissy]

What a beautiful and cozy display. I love those pillows by the way! Can't wait to make my own.

[Angela]

You patio looks like such a cozy spot & I absolutely love the story of how it was created!

Angela

[Deanna]

This looks really nice and cozy!! Love the little squirrel statues! I'm your newest follower, and I would love it if you would stop by my blog and follow me back! Cheers~ Deanna

[Judy Ainger]

What a warm and cozy vignette. I can imagine curling up and reading a book while sipping on hot apple cider! Just lovely!!! :)

[Nicole]

Your patio looks wonderful and homey.

[carol]

Love your fall seating. It gives me an idea for the adirondack chair that sits next to our front door. And I have just the pillow for it.

[lynne@lynnesgiftsfromtheheart]

Hi darling, love this so much... thanks for sharing. hugs ~lynne~

[Patio Cèdre]

I am very glad to read this nice article. Very nice decoration of patio and technique or design is looking so beautiful. All the points are very clearly defined. Whole work is appreciable.

[Micky]

You have a beautiful blog. Micky

[Lori Lockwood]

I love the way your pillow turned out, and the look of your patio. I used an old porciline letter to stensil the letter L on my red luggage (which everyone has) filled in the letter with a black sharpie, and outlined it with a gold sharpie. Along the same lines as what you did with your pillow, Much easier to find on the airport turnstile

[Sean Carter]

some really lovely work! There are so many things you can do to enhance your yard and so many little things you can do to give it that homey feel. I just love it! We have been added some garden stone to our yard and cant wait until the whole process is finished. It is looking great!

[http://thewordon.wordpress.com]

Expose yourself to funny things, comedy programs, joke books, etc... Hang around with people that are funny and enjoy humor. Remind yourself daily to enjoy yourself and have fun. Avoid things that make you feel sad and unhappy. If you have negative emotions, use laughter as a bulletproof vest. You can reset your emotions with just a little bit of humor.

[Jennifer]

This looks so cozy and relaxing!

[Lisa Owens]

I absolutely love the fall greetings pillow, do you remember what font this was? I love it and I can't find it anywhere.

[Rhonda]

I love pillow, and I have Cricut. I need to check out my fonts and put these pillows on my To Do List. Thanks for sharing.