Super Sassy, Star Struck 4th of July Bleach Pen Pillow!

Hooray! Try this super fun, super easy DIY bleach pen pillow! I LOVE BLEACH PEN PROJECTS!! Did I tell you it was easy? I literally designed and made this super cute pillow from beginning to end in maybe a half an hour. With hungry kids and hubby I have to be lickety split quick!

In this blog I will give you step by step instructions on how to make this darling pillow. You will need the following materials:

– a pillow covering in a dark color (higher concentrations of cotton work best), with a side zipper or opening
– a CLOROX bleach pen (I get mine from Target and I buy them 3 or 4 at a time!) they are a few bucks
– a piece of white chalk to sketch out your design before bleaching
– a shape or stencil for your design (I used stars)
– a timer
– a sink for rinsing off the bleach
– a washer and dryer
– a pillow cushion for inside
THATS IT!

Here is a photo of the materials I used:

Easy Materials for diy Bleach Pen Star Pillow

Lucky for me I had some star shapes laying around the cupboard left over from our little gals last birthday party. She had a sweet ‘fashion show’ themed party and we decorated the house movie star style. I had hung a bunch of stars from the ceiling near the ‘runway’. Perfect! I used these stars as my tracing template – glad I saved them! See there are some benefits to being a pack rat 🙂

Here are the steps for making this darling 4th of July, star pillow simply with a piece of chalk, some cardboard star shapes, and a bleach pen:

1- take the pillow cushion out of the pillow covering (I found my dark blue pillow with the stylish burlap trim from Pier One yesterday. It was $29 but on sale, gotta love that! I was searching for a good sized pillow with a side zip to remove the cushion for this project)
2- IMPORTANT! Put something inside the pillow to protect the back side from the bleach. I used a sturdy placemat this time. I have used cardboard in the past. Just be sure whatever you use covers the area you are working on.
3- place your shapes or stencils on the pillow covering
4- use a piece of white chalk to trace and outline the shapes or stencils
5- remove the shapes or stencils
6- go over your chalk tracings with the bleach pen (I prefer to work quickly to make smoother lines). I’m not going for perfect here! I love the artsy, Batik look of the finished project – definitely not perfect but very pretty!
7- set your timer for 5 minutes. Wait 5 minutes 🙂
8- gently take it over to a sink to rinse off the bleach – I recommend wearing gloves here. The bleach can be harsh on your pretty little lady hands, lol
9- run through laundry machine and dryer – this sets the bleach and keeps your design

10-stuff the pillow cushion back into your newly designed star spangled pillow, yay!

Here is a snazzy video on how to do all that!

So cute, so easy, so fast! Start to finish is about a half and hour, honest. This is what my pillow looks like all finished:

Here is the end product of a quick and easy bleach pen pillow project, perfect for decorating for the 4th of July!

…think I’m going to make a 2nd pillow and put them both out on our red patio furniture out back – it’s gonna look great! YAY!!!

Where did I get inspired to try this?  I made a handful of bleach pen t-shirts awhile back.

paisly t-shirt bleach pen art fashion design

I would show you the finished product (what the t-shirt looked like after the bleach was washed off and it was dry) but I gave it away as a gift! I gave it to friend of mine who loves orange and loves paisleys and now I believe loves this t-shirt!  For detailed instructions on how to make a cool and artsy shirt using bleach pens, go to my post Design T-shirt with CLOROX Bleach Pens for Art and Fun.

Let me know if you tried to make a pillow like the one above or have tried something similar. Did I inspire you? I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a comment. thanks for stopping by!