Pretty-up your boudoir using our easy silk-painted designs

What you need...

• Fabric: silk; printed cotton
  Wooden frame
  Pins, silk
  Pen, fabric, water-soluble
  Gutta outliner, pearl white
  Silk paint: orange, pink, lime
  Paintbrush, fine
  Trimmings: ribbon, embroidery, ricrac
  Glue, fabric
  Cushion pad/soft toy filling
  Paper, decorative
  Picture frames, wooden
  Card blank, white
  Hole punch

instructions

1. Cushion - 1 Stretch a piece of silk onto the wooden frame and secure with pins. Trace the templates onto the material using a water-soluble fabric pen. Take the cap off the tube of gutta, then, holding it like a pencil, squeeze gently whilst working over the lines, until you are left with a raised border all round. Put to one side to dry. Using the fine brush, fill in the areas divided by the gutta with the paint. Leave to dry.
   
   2 Remove the painted silk from the frame. To make the front panel of the cushion you will need three different cotton print fabrics that match the paint colours. Trim the printed cotton for the back of the cushion. Pin this to the larger painted silk piece, right sides together, and sew. Open the seam at the back and press flat.
   
   3 Cut cotton fabric, 20cm x 6cm, pin and stitch this to the previous two pieces. Next to that, pin the smaller silk painting and stitch. Finish by cutting a panel of printed cotton, 20cm x 6cm, and sew it at the end.
   
   4 When all the pieces are stitched together and pressed flat, lay strips of matching trims onto the panel and use the fabric glue to secure it in place. Leave to dry. Cut cotton fabric the same size as the front panel of the cushion.
   
   5 Pin the two panels right sides together and stitch along three edges, leaving one open. Turn through to the right side and press flat. Use a pad or soft toy filler to stuff the cushion. Turn in the open edges and pin. Sew to close.

2. Mini Pictures - 1 Stretch the silk onto the frames securing with pins. Trace the mini picture designs onto the silk, then go over the lines with gutta. Leave to dry. Fill in the blank areas with silk paint and leave to dry again.
   
   2 Cut three picture mounts out of white card to fit the frames and attach the finished silk painted designs. Draw around the frames onto printed paper that matches the colours used in your silk painted designs, then cut out. Cover the sides of the frames using the paper fixed in place with glue. Finish by mounting the pictures in the frames.

3. Greeting Card - Trace the design onto silk as described above and paint. Once dry, remove from the frame and carefully cut out along the gutta edge. Mount the silk painted picture onto the front of a card blank using a glue-stick.

4. Gift Tags - Trace the small tag designs onto the silk and paint as described above. When dry, cut the designs out along the gutta edge. Using a glue stick, mount onto small squares of card. Make a hole with a punch at the top corner of the tag. Loop a small length of ribbon through for tying.