Create buzz-worthy home decor with these DIY tips for making coordinating bee throw pillows using stencils. Perfect for adding a touch of nature to any room in your house!

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With each changing season, I’m always looking for a quick and easy way to refresh indoor and outdoor spaces. And nothing changes the look up quicker than a simple throw pillow! Wouldn’t you agree?

However purchasing new decorative pillows can get expensive! That’s why I love to stencil pillow covers instead!

I’m definitely no stranger to creating accent pillows, thanks to my favorite method of using stencils, which makes them a quick and easy project with pro results!

A couple of my favorite pillow covers from the past are:

How to make authentic grain sack pillows

Stenciled cross pattern pillows

View all my DIY pillow designs HERE

Perks of stenciling new pillow covers

saves loads of storage space
easy to change designs – you can stencil both sides too!
more affordable than entire pillows
so customizable – pick your own designs and colour shades to match your personal style!
wider range of textures and comfort fabrics

However, I’ve noticed bee designs in particular are popular in home decor. So I desired to bring the wonderful world of bees into two coordinating stencils so we’d have the ability to design bee-inspired decor to our heart’s content!

Here’s what the bee stencils look like:

Two coordinating bee stencils

View Bee Pattern stencil HERE

This Bee Pattern stencil is so fun to create with! The repeating pattern can get you quick coverage, and with the bees being approx 1″ big, the scale works out perfectly for throw pillows! Along with feature walls, carpets, fabric, etc.

View Bee Borders and Designs stencil HERE

This Bee Borders and Designs stencil is designed to coordinate with the Bee Pattern stencil. There’s a couple of bee borders, along with some flowers and 2 bee insignias, offering you unlimited ways to design your projects!

So as soon as these bee stencils landed in my mailbox, I couldn’t wait to put this vision into play! And I’m so glad I did… I ended up with 3 of the most adorable bee-inspired neutral and white throw pillows that all work together so well as this summer’s outdoor pillows!

So if you too are inspired to freshen up your indoor or outdoor spaces with a touch of nature, here’s how I made these coordinating bee throw pillows within minutes, thanks to the stencils!

Design your own coordinating bee throw pillows with stencils!

Supplies I used:

Bee pattern stencil from HERE

Bee Borders and Designs stencil from HERE

Wood Wick by Fusion Mineral Paint (get 10% off HERE)

Plain neutral cotton-blend pillow covers – 20″

Feather pillow inserts – 20″

Dome tipped stencil brushes

Masking tape

Something waterproof to insert inside the pillow covers

Metal ruler fabric ruler or construction measuring tape

Find Hampton Bay Rosemont Stackable Woven Chair – Light Brown Finish with Putty Tan Cushion HERE

Stenciling a Bee Pattern pillow

1. Flatten a pillow cover on top of a table.

This pillow cover is a 20″ Jofrid pillow cover from IKEA which is no longer available, however I did spot some Jofrid pillow covers on Ebay HERE. Regardless, you’ll want to choose covers with a high content of cotton so the paint takes well.

THESE plain canvas pillow covers may do the trick.

2. Insert something waterproof inside the pillow cover.

I inserted a stencil bag inside this pillow, but anything flat will do, such as a piece of cardboard or plastic bag, as long as it will stop the paint from bleeding through to the other side of the pillow.

How to stencil a pattern

3. Position the stencil onto the pillow, and hold in place with masking tape along one edge, so you have the ability to lift the stencil to check your progress without moving it off-position.

When working with a pattern, it’s like tiling a floor. You want to know where a design will ultimately end before you start.

I discovered that if I started this stencil pattern to the far upper left of a 20″ pillow cover while aligning the bees on the far right to the center of the pillow, the pattern would fit perfectly once extended.

4. Dip a dome-tipped stencil brush into paint, then offload most paint until the brush feels somewhat dry.

I prefer to use dome tipped stencil brushes because I’ve found the paint goes on in a more even transition.

5. Tap, swipe or swirl paint through stencil for desired technique.

I held the stencil in place with my left hand to hold all the smaller pieces of the stencil in place, then stenciled with my right hand, using a slight swirling technique.

Be sure to check out the short video at the bottom of this post to watch my method!

Learn more tips about how to stencil from THIS POST.

Shop for Wood Wick by Fusion Mineral Paint for 10% off HERE

Or use code funkyjunkinteriorsfmp at checkout. Staalmeester brushes are not discounted.

What paint to choose for fabric

The paint I choose for this design is called Wood Wick by Fusion Mineral Paint. It’s a lovely toned-down mid-brown that adds a neutral softness to the oatmeal pillow cover! LOVE it!

Fusion Mineral Paint works flawlessly on fabric! I’ve used it on all my fabrics and pillows and washes up well, plus it will soften up with each wash.

Read my own Fusion Mineral Paint review HERE, listing all my favorite paint products and supplies!

How to use a masking tape hinge

As previously mentioned, if you run a strip of masking tape along just one entire side of the stencil, you are creating a door hinge effect. This allows you to lift your stencil to check your progress without moving the stencil out of position.

So cute already!

AHH! How adorable is that bee pattern?! It looks so good and I can’t wait to try it on other surfaces!

Now that the bee pattern is complete, let’s make another pillow to coordinate!

Pillow stenciled with Bee Borders and Designs stencil HERE

Flying bees over flowers pillow design

The above pillow was stenciled with Bee Borders and Designs. I don’t have the step-by-step in pictures, however here’s how I did it:

Position the row of flowers in the center of the pillow, positioned a little lower to allow for the bees on top.
Stencil with Wood Wick.
Reposition the stencil by turning the flying bees flying down towards the flowers. Stencil images.
Twist the stencil right around until the bees face up, then connect the dotted lines to create a longer dotted line pattern. Visit listing for an image of this step.

Oh my goodnessssss, it turned out so cute!

Let’s add one more bee pillow design I just had to make! Because at this point, why stop?!

Pillow stenciled with Bee Borders and Designs stencil HERE

Lumbar bee pillow design

This pillow is an off-white velvet pillow I picked up at IKEA long ago. However any similar will do.

Position the straight bee border from Bee Borders and Designs in the center of a lumbar pillow.
Stencil in Wood Wick.

That’s it! Clean and simple!

I love lumbar pillows for longer pieces of furniture, such as benches, love seats, sofas or on beds. However it’s pretty cute filling up the entire back of a wicker chair too!

This lumbar pillow will ultimately land on my pallet sofa (see it HERE) as soon as I find the right seat cover for it, making my entire patio coordinate perfectly, bee-style!

View a 12″ x 20″ off-white lumbar pillow cover HERE

Get a lumbar 12″ x 20″ feather pillow insert to fit HERE

Viewing all the finished bee pillows

Can you even?! I love all these bee-coordinated throw pillows! They marry each other so well without being identical.

Find Hampton Bay Rosemont Stackable Woven Chair – Light Brown Finish with Putty Tan Cushion HERE

Chair pads are stenciled in Grain Sack Stripes. Read tutorial HERE.

This bee pattern stenciled up on neutral throw pillows offers a soft, neutral touch. And I think it coordinates perfectly with those wicker chairs and grain sack stenciled linen-look chair pads!

I love how cozy and soft this bee pattern looks!

Other ideas to use the bee pattern on:

placemats or napkins
tea towels
window curtains
shower curtain
front door mat
kitchen mat
towels

Could you imagine placemats with this bee pattern, then using bits and pieces for coordinating cloth napkins?! So cute!

And I adore the coordinating buzzing bees on this pillow. Stenciled all in the same soft tones, the design takes the stage, rather than the colours. Isn’t it the cutest?!

Other ideas to use the Bee Borders and Designs on:

This stencil is so versatile, allowing you to custom-create your own take in limitless ways!

Pillow cover shown: IKEA 20″ Gurli pillow cover in white. (which is really a soft white)

And this lumbar pillow wears a row of bees well, don’t you think? This shaped pillow would look fantastic on a bed, sofa, or bench. But it’s also very cute on a chair too, which covers the entire back.

As soon as I get a new seat cover for my pallet sofa I use opposite these chairs, that’s where this pillow will go!

However until then…

I’m really enjoying my new outdoor living space for this summer just the way it is! The bees tie in perfectly for an outdoor visual interest theme. And I like the added warmth plus minimalist look that’s possible when designing my own looks.

However I also know if I decide to move them into my living room on my white slipcovered sofas, they’ll also fit right in!

Video tutorial: Coordinating stenciled Bee throw pillows

View a short video above on the stencil process used on these pillows!

I love it when a theme just falls into place. Could a few new toss pillows add the pop you’re missing for your own patio furniture or indoor couch too?

Other throw pillows and patio projects to make:

View many other pillow design ideas to make HERE

Visit more patio decorating ideas HERE