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His movements were nearly imperceptible. With one hand he reached into the bucket and ever so slowly removed a handful of sunflower seeds, his young, great-niece, eyes wide, watching in raptured amazement. Cautiously, he extended his hand to little buck. Unsure, the buck hesitated before reaching for the seeds. 

Her eyes danced with excitement. Barely able to contain herself she whispered, “I want to try.” She’d been tossing apple pieces to the deer all afternoon. Some, like the little buck, were bold. Others remained cautious. Two young fawns had inched their way closer and closer, drawn by their desire for seeds and apples. 

For a young girl growing up in the expansive metropolis of the Phoenix area, the experience was captivating. The next day she would return home to her family. Life would resume it’s normal cadence with family, school, and extracurricular activities, but just maybe, every now and then, as she goes through her daily activities she will stop and remember the serenity of a mountain cabin and the magic of deer that eat out of a hand. 

As I watched my dad and my cousin’s daughter, I was thankful again for the beauty around me, for the wonder of God’s creation, and for the rain that finally came. Time and time again it speaks to my soul, never failing to stir feelings of wonder and awe. 

That was the scene playing through my mind yesterday as I created a throw pillow for my dad’s bed. My mom had ordered a deer stencil from A Maker’s Studio. If you missed the introduction to A Maker’s Studio, you can read about it and it’s amazing vision here.

We will be using the deer stencil as part of my parent’s kitchen update, but I couldn’t wait to give it a try. 

Blank, canvas pillow covers can be purchased from A Maker’s Studio for only $10.99, but I didn’t have one on hand and I’m impatient. So, I pulled out my old Viking sewing machine, rummaged through my fabric stash until I found a scrap piece of muslin. After a little measuring, a little cutting and a  little sewing, I had a very plain, very simple pillow cover. 

Then the fun began! 

I ironed the cover, making sure I had smooth surface. I placed the cover on the counter, smoothed it, then applied the deer stencil. At this point I decided it would probably be a good idea to place a piece of cardboard or something between the layers of the cover to prevent the color from bleeding through to the back. 

I reached for the closest thing I could find, the packaging for the stencil. I slipped it into the cover and positioned it directly underneath the stencil. 

Using A Maker’s Studio Gel Stain and their paint spreader, I carefully applied the stain to the stencil. I used stain rather than paint because I wanted that rich brown color. I simply dipped a corner of the spreader into the stain and pulled it across the stencil until I’d covered the entire image. 

When I lifted the stencil, a beautifully detailed deer image remained. The entire painting process took less than 15 minutes!! 15 minutes and the results were amazing! I love this pillow! 

Cleaning the stencil proved to be as easy as using it. I simply placed it in the kitchen sink and gently sprayed it with the faucet sprayer. The stain came right off. I then laid it on a dish drying mat, adhesive side up and left it to dry. 

That was it! It took longer to take photos that it did to paint the pillow. 

Now my mind is full of all kinds of possibilities!