Nights are beginning to have a chill in them and the moon has been so big and bright these past couple of nights. I wanted to bring the magic indoors, so I made a moon phase pillow using just a sponge and some paint. I was quite pleased with how it turned out.
You'll need:
12x 24 inch travel pillow($3 at wal-mart)
3/4 yard of rough unbleached muslin (I had my own)
craft paint in a moon-y color (I had my own)
1 large synthetic sponge ($1)
Fold your fabric in half and cut it to fit around the pillow so that you have three cut sides and one fold (mine had a tight plastic cover on it as a wrapper, so I just traced the plastic cover).
Next, put the plastic cover or newspaper in between the pieces to prevent paint from gooshing to the other side. Now, take your sponge and either freehand draw or trace a circle onto it and cut it out. Choose the hole-iest side for the best moon surface look.
Squeeze some of your paint onto a plastic bag or newspaper and coat the sponge thoroughly. Press it onto the fabric (don't press too hard or you'll lose your moon craters!)
Now for the moon! Press just one side of the sponge onto the fabric. The next time press less of the sponge onto the fabric. Lastly, press just the outer edge of the sponge onto the fabric for a sliver of a moon.
Iron the wrong side of your design on the cotton setting of your iron (after it is dried, of course). Fold the pillow inside out and sew two of the sides.
Flip it right side out and stuff your pillow form into the case. Then blind stitch the open end and you are done. Be proud, be very proud.
