crafts handmade

Cross stitched heart mural

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.

 

cross stitched mural equipment

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!

cross stitch mural

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.

cross stitch mural on furniture

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.

cross_stitch_mural

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

  • Reply
    Wendy
    August 27, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Oh, 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!

  • Reply
    CatkinJane
    August 27, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    That’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 🙂

  • Reply
    Kathy Penney @ Pinner Takes All
    August 27, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    Beautiful 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!

  • Reply
    Martha
    August 27, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    this is a lovely painting, cross stitch is so trendy these days and so are the red-white scandi motifs 🙂
    well done!

  • Reply
    RosMadeMe
    August 27, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    I 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 🙂

  • Reply
    Karen Langridge
    August 27, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    Gorgeous! I wish I was talented at doing stuff x

  • Reply
    Rebekah
    August 28, 2012 at 3:28 am

    Gorgeous! 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 🙂

  • Reply
    handbagsbyhelen
    August 28, 2012 at 10:36 am

    That’s a really pretty idea. You should definitely do more.

  • Reply
    knitnrun4sanity
    August 28, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    What a great idea. So effective but also accessible. Thanks for sharing.

  • Reply
    creativejewishmom/sara
    August 30, 2012 at 6:50 am

    LOVE it! Thanks so much for sharing on Craft Schooling Sunday!

  • Reply
    Stephen @ Soy of the North
    August 31, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Great idea . Adds a nice designer element to the cot and it looks beautiful too.

  • Reply
    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 […]

  • Reply
    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 […]

  • Reply
    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 […]

  • Reply
    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 […]

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