Turn a Plain Cushion Cover into a Nebula Art Piece

Space has a way of capturing our imagination. Its vastness is hard to grasp, yet images from telescopes such as Hubble make one fact clear: the universe is stunning, and it deserves a spot in your home decor. With a few supplies, you can transform an ordinary cushion cover into a piece of nebula art that echoes the beauty of the cosmos.

Step 1

Slide the plastic sheet inside the cushion cover. This keeps bleach from soaking through to the reverse side.

Step 2

Only adults should handle this step. Working in a well-ventilated space, pour bleach carefully into the spray bottle and mist it onto a few random spots on the cover. Leave some of the original cushion color visible. Allow the bleach to work for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Now comes the painting. Start with the color you plan to use most, then move to the ones you'll use less. In this example, black came first, then white, purple, blue, and finally red. Put a small amount of paint on a craft sponge.

Gently rub the paint around the edges of the bleached areas using a circular motion.

Apply light pressure and spread the paint thinly to build a smoky look.

Step 4

Begin forming your clouds of space dust. Use white to lighten parts of the black areas, again with the circular rubbing technique, to produce grey clouds.

Step 5

Keep painting the same way, one color at a time, working from the outer edges inward to fill the larger bleached sections. Remember, this is just one way to place colors, so feel free to be creative. You are the master of this universe.

Apply your next color (blue in this example) from the outer edges of the light areas in.

Continue filling in the light areas with your next color.

Finish up with your final color (in this example, red).

To add more depth to your colored areas, rub in a little white sparingly. Let your eye and intuition guide you.

Step 6

When your nebula clouds look the way you want, it's time to add stars and distant galaxies. Dip your size 1 or 2 brush in white paint and place small dots here and there. You can also create dense star clusters in a few spots.

Step 7

Galaxies take many shapes, but the most enjoyable ones to paint, in my view, are spiral galaxies. Add a few.

Step 8

To finish your space-themed cushion, add some large, glowing heavenly bodies.

Now admire your celestial masterpiece.

While the universe wasn't made in a day, these cushions can be completed in just a few hours, which makes them great last-minute gifts for the space enthusiasts in your life.