To compensate for the fact the poor 8 month old has to share a room with us I thought I would decorate her cot. Our bedroom is in the loft conversion so, unlike the rest of our Edwardian terraced house, it has a really modern feel.
Her cot is a simple one from Ikea in plain white so I wanted to give it a little makeover with a cross stitched heart mural. I love the idea of translating cross stitch to fabrics and furniture and have seen some lovely work by Eline Pellinkhof which inspired me.
First of all I practised on a sheet of paper using the small cross stitch mural template by Eline Pellinkhof, which I bought online. I drew round each x lightly with a pencil so I would know where to paint.
I didn’t need much equipment – just a tester pot of red and white matt emulsion (Duracoat paint from Homebase) and I borrowed the toddlers paint brush and paint tray.
Then I sat down and filled in the x’s completely haphazardly, a bit of red, red mixed with white to make pink. I don’t think I’ve painted since school so I enjoyed this bit!
When I was happy with the result I got the husband to take the end off the cot, measured where I wanted the centre of the heart, drew on the lines using the template and painted.
I’m really happy with the finished result and Little Sis seems to love it too as I watched her looking at it and reaching out to touch it.
My mind is racing with endless possibilities for more cross stitch murals!
Linking up with handmade monday, inspire me monday, craft schooling sunday and creative me
15 Comments
Wendy
August 27, 2012 at 10:48 amOh, how lovely is that? And definitely inspirational, so thank you for sharing. I like the variegated colour you’ve used. You now have me thinking about cross stich painting…I like the idea very much!
CatkinJane
August 27, 2012 at 1:15 pmThat’s really great.
I do love personalised furniture, my favourite were the recycled kitchen cupboards that I painted and decorated with a folk design. It can get rather addictive though 🙂
Kathy Penney @ Pinner Takes All
August 27, 2012 at 4:05 pmBeautiful work! I have an 8 month little girl as well- 2 days after Christmas. And my hubby is from the UK- but we are in the US now. Have a great week!
Martha
August 27, 2012 at 7:02 pmthis is a lovely painting, cross stitch is so trendy these days and so are the red-white scandi motifs 🙂
well done!
RosMadeMe
August 27, 2012 at 7:21 pmI love the way the colour fades into the tip of the heart. You are so right about being able to extend this technique, I am looking forward to seeing what else you come up with 🙂
Karen Langridge
August 27, 2012 at 7:49 pmGorgeous! I wish I was talented at doing stuff x
Rebekah
August 28, 2012 at 3:28 amGorgeous! I am casting about my immediate area (desk at my Day Job) looking for something I can paint a cross-stitch mural on. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
handbagsbyhelen
August 28, 2012 at 10:36 amThat’s a really pretty idea. You should definitely do more.
knitnrun4sanity
August 28, 2012 at 6:36 pmWhat a great idea. So effective but also accessible. Thanks for sharing.
creativejewishmom/sara
August 30, 2012 at 6:50 amLOVE it! Thanks so much for sharing on Craft Schooling Sunday!
Stephen @ Soy of the North
August 31, 2012 at 4:44 pmGreat idea . Adds a nice designer element to the cot and it looks beautiful too.
Some crafty inspiration | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
September 12, 2012 at 8:38 pm[…] may remember I’ve already been inspired by Eline Pellinkhof to stencil a cross stitched heart on Little Sis’ cot bed. I recently bought a copy of her book Stitch and Sew House and I think […]
Some crafty inspiration and pretty pictures | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
September 12, 2012 at 8:42 pm[…] may remember I’ve already been inspired by Eline Pellinkhof to stencil a cross stitched heart on Little Sis’ cot bed. I recently bought a copy of her book Stitch and Sew House and I think […]
A little room for improvement | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
June 2, 2013 at 10:17 pm[…] we started her room was furnished with her cot bed which I had previously decorated with a cross stitched heart mural, two chests of drawers, a vintage Lloyd Loom chair and a couple of unpacked […]
A little room for improvement | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
October 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm[…] we started her room was furnished with her cot bed which I had previously decorated with a cross stitched heart mural, two chests of drawers, a vintage Lloyd Loom chair and a couple of unpacked […]