Quick Craft: Hufflepuff Magic Sequin Pillow!

Ever since I showed you guys that magic House Crest pillow from SuperCon, I've been wondering if there was any way to craft something similar on the cheap.

So when I spotted this cute gold-and-black number over at Walmart, I snatched it up for some DIY experimentation:

These color-shifting sequin pillow are everywhere right now, and super cheap online if your local stores don't have them. If you're thinking Hogwarts House colors like I am, then here are some slipcovers I found over on Amazon for $7- $8 each, all from the same listing:

Not the best gold for Hufflepuff, but I love the color-shifting green for Slytherin. Plus I'm sure you can find other gold & black options; that's a common enough color combo.

So now all we really need is to add some magical customization, right? Maybe with a stencil and a spritz of spray paint?

Aw yeah. LET'S DO IT.

Since my pillow already had a heart on it, I sketched out a Hufflepuff H that would fit inside:

I drew this freehand when I couldn't find a printable version I liked. Feel free to download it for your own pillow.

I cut out the H with a craft blade, sprayed the back of the paper stencil with spray adhesive, and stuck it down. Then I taped the stencil edges and covered the rest of the pillow with plastic bags:

 

To get your letter placement right, it helps to place the letter cut-out on the pillow first, then put the stencil on top of the cut-out. This was a life-saver in getting my H centered inside the heart. 

Also, be sparing with the spray adhesive; it can gunk up your sequins. In fact, I'd love to hear your ideas for stick-down alternatives, since I had to do a lot of cleaning with alcohol later to get the stickiness off. :(

John used a fine mist of Rustoleum Metallic gold over the stencil. Spray with a light hand, so the sequins don't stick together. Paint obviously can't compete with sequins for shine, but the Rustoleum Metallics are the shiniest we've found (at least without getting into specialty stuff), and still look super pretty:

 This is straight off my phone, no editing or filters.

Ahh, but that's only one side! 

LET'S DO THE OTHER ONE.

After a little doodling, I sketched out this badger face:

 You need large, simple shapes for the best results.

A quick transfer to tracing paper so I could make both sides symmetrical:

And I was ready to cut!

Same process sticking it down, although this one's trickier since its larger and has more pieces:

(This was before I placed the ear & eye cut-outs.) 

Oh, I didn't mention this before, but make sure all your sequins are brushed down the right way!

For this side John used a gloss black spray paint, which unfortunately came out much heavier than the gold. The spray was so thick that it stuck my sequins together, dangit:

Not to worry, though; about 10 minutes with a craft blade after the paint dried, and I was able to pop up all the stuck sequins, no peeling or chipping at all.

(To avoid this problem, again, spray lightly - and from further back.)

The only negative, in fact, is that the sequins shift around a lot, exposing gold flecks in the black areas:

 It's not as noticeable on the H side, but for the badger there's a lot more gold peeking through. You could always go back and spray this side again, just to cover more of the gold flecks, but be careful not to build up the paint too much. If you add too much extra thickness it might make it harder to brush the sequins up and down.

Finally, clean up any smudged or blurry edges with an artist brush tipped in a little mineral spirits; it'll take any excess spray paint right off.

And if your spray adhesive left you with sticky sequins, give them a once-over with a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol; that should do the trick. (Though again, I'd love to hear alternatives for the spray adhesive so we can skip this step!)

 Now let's see the magic in action:

Ta-daaa!

I gave this to my friend Sharyn for her birthday last week - after playing with it for a day or two, you know, just to make sure it was nice and durable. ;)    

I hope this inspires some shiny DIYs out there! If so, please, share your pics on FB or Instagram, and tag me so I can see! 

And finally, here's a pretty photo of Hogwarts I took last week, just 'cuz:

It's still WAY too hot to be outside here in Florida, but we were in Hogsmeade for a few hours for a reader meetup, and the overcast rainy skies gave the castle the most perfect glow! So pretty. Ahhh. (Can it hurry up and get below 90 degrees already? I NEED MY THEME PARK FIX.)