Guest post by Sara of Creative Jewish Mom

Thanks so very much to Marie for inviting me to to do a guest post on her blog today! I share my daily creative adventures as a Jewish mom living in Israel over at creativejewishmom.com and would love to “see” you there!

I’m so happy to be sharing with all of you this fun project for the upcoming holiday of Pesach (Passover), which starts after sundown on the evening of March 29th.  The holiday of Pesach lasts an entire week (8 days outside of Israel) and the preparations, which include ridding our homes of every last bread crumb, can be grueling for those of us who take the holiday seriously. The cleaning is part of the spiritual process of preparing each year to exit from “slavery”, namely those aspects of our lives which keep us from moving forward! So, I personally look forward to this meaningful Spring cleaning! And once the house is clean and neat, I just love to decorate with bits of spring color to make the holiday feel even more special in my home. (Not to digress, but since you are probably wondering, I made this felt rose-bud bouquet for Chanukah, but it actually looks perfect now! You can find the complete tutorial for that simply lovely project here.)

At the Pesach Seder, on the first night (and second outside Israel) we read the haggadah, and drink four cups of wine (or grape juice) in a reclining position, at certain designated points over the course of several hours. In most homes, pillows are given to those sitting at the table to help recline and remind us that this night is different from all other nights. Since drinking and reclining can get a bit messy, I usually bring regular bed pillows to the table covered in a beautiful assortment of floral and pastel pillowcases that can be easily washed. This year I thought I’d bring that idea to a new level and actually decorate those pillow cases with something specific to Pesach so that we can enjoy them for years to come. Thus was born the idea of a freezer-paper stenciled and appliqued pillow case!

As you may know, freezer paper stenciling is simple and fun and allows you to apply any design you wish to fabric with just a few simple steps. I hope you’ll enjoy this project as much as I did!

Of course you don’t have to celebrate Pesach to make some custom pillow cases like this one! I’m sure you can find a reason to follow my simple directions and create something special for your home.

You’ll Need:

• freezer paper
• fabric paint
• a pillow case
• two pieces of coordinating fabric
• rick-rack or trim of some kind
• a stenciling paint brush or a dense sponge (like a make-up sponge)
• a craft knife and/or small sharp scissors
• a sewing machine and minimal sewing ability (like me!)

How To:

Follow the simple steps as illustrated in the photos below:

Step 1: Draw your design on the un-waxed side of the freezer paper and cut out using a sharp craft knife and/or small sharp scissors. Iron the stencil onto your fabric with a hot dry iron, making sure that the stencil is lying flat and evenly adhered to the fabric.

Step 2: Apply fabric paint to the stencil using a stencil brush or a dense sponge. Try not to use too much paint as excess moisture can cause the freezer paper to bubble which is not desirable as then paint can seep under the stencil and your borders will be imperfect.

Step 3: Cut stenciled piece into a perfect rectangle and using a zig zag stitch, applique it to coordinating fabric.

Step 4: Apply pieces of rick rack with a sewing machine for added interest, and once again using a zig zag stitch, applique your finished rectangle to the pillow case of your choice.

Option: If you’d like to create something that involves no sewing, so you can certainly stencil your designs directly onto the pillow case! Just make sure to place a piece of freezer paper inside the pillow case so that the paint won’t leek onto the other side. This holds true for applying designs to t-shirts as well. Or using fusible iron-on interfacing and fabric glue one could create something similar, though it may not hold up in the washing machine!

Thanks so much for following along, and I hope that each and every one of you will take advantage of the opportunity for renewal that comes with Spring! For those of you who have craft/DIY blogs I’d love to meet you at my weekly international blog linking party, Craft Schooling Sunday (thru Tues). Hope to see you there and all the best! Sara from creativejewishmom.com