If you’re new here, welcome to my little corner of the internet. My life over the past few years has been a whirlwind, but I’m not here for a pity party. I’m here to share ideas, embrace this wild merry-go-round called life, and maybe inspire you to get creative along the way.
How Vintage Style Gal Was Born
When I started Vintage Style Gal, we were all navigating life through the haze of a pandemic. I was working my regular 9-to-5, but I found myself needing more. Do you ever feel that way—like you need something to occupy your mind, spark joy, or keep your hands busy?
That’s where this blog came in. It became my more.
Initially, I shared decorating ideas and room makeovers, but the physical toll of constantly changing up rooms became too much. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on blogging or the amazing people—like you—that I’ve connected with through this space.
Married to a Crafter: A Blessing or a Curse?
I’ll admit, being married to a crafter has its moments. We never want to throw anything away. Just ask my husband! He’s always trying to declutter while I’m clinging to scraps of fabric and random knickknacks, insisting, “I can do something with that!”
He used to roll his eyes, but now he plays along. Lately, he’s been asking, “Okay, but what can you do with this?”—as if ideas magically appear on command. Creativity takes time! And, well, that’s how our basement ended up bursting at the seams.
One such project idea finally came to fruition this week: a no-sew Ohio State Buckeyes pillow.
A Special DIY Inspired by My Husband
My husband is the ultimate Ohio State (OSU Football Buckeyes) football fan. He’s so dedicated that we planned our wedding around OSU football season! (Yes, you read that right.) We have to watch OSU football on tv every week during football season, and while I may not match his enthusiasm, I do my best to cheer when I understand what’s happening.
So, when I stumbled upon a photo with OSU football players from 1890, I knew it would make the perfect personalized gift for him. A year later, I finally turned that idea into a no-sew pillow!
OSU Football Buckeyes DIY Pillow
Materials:
- 1 piece of scrap white cotton fabric cut to size of 8x11 piece of paper
- Tape
- Scissors
- 1 drop cloth
- Printer, this is the one I have, but there are a lot of other printers out there if you are not an avid crafter
- Iron
- Wax paper
- Hot glue gun
- 3 glue sticks
- 1 placemat
- Grocery bags or plastic shopping bags
Instructions:
- Use an 8x11 piece of paper as a guide in cutting the scrap white cotton fabric to size (I used the liner of our curtain I previously made into napkins)
- Place the fabric over top of the printer paper, and begin taping the white cotton fabric to the printer paper, use as little tape on the fabric as possible, but enough to keep the pieces together to prevent getting stuck in your printer
- Place wax paper over your now printed fabric, and iron out wrinkles, but we are also setting the ink into the fabric, be careful while the ink is still wet, you will get it on your fingers
- Remove the paper and tape from the printed fabric image
- Use a placemat as a template to cut out the drop cloth to fit the size of your printed image. I wanted the actual pillow to be larger than my printed image, cut two pieces for a front and back to the pillow
- Place the printed fabric image onto the front of the drop cloth, measure to be sure you have properly centered the image to the middle of the drop cloth pillow
- Begin applying hot glue to the back of the image, be careful in disturbing the image since you have already measured it out. Be sure to apply glue all along the edges of the printed image
- Place the front and back of the pillow facing each other, and then begin hot gluing the edges of the pillow together
- Glue three sides together, leaving the bottom open to stuff your DIY pillow
- Now, here is where you can either use a pillow form, and my husband will tell you she can buy a pillow form, but I like to stretch my imagination to the max, and that is where I decided to stuff this pillow with plastic grocery sacks
- Once you have your "pillow form" in place, you can begin to fold in the edge of the bottom of the pillow fabric to create a clean seam along the bottom so it matches the rest of the pillow
- Place in desired location, and wait for the compliments to come in and folks to wonder aloud where on earth did you get a pillow like that!
What a sweet and thoughtful gift idea, Cara! I love how you gave something that was easy to make but also something that was highly personal too. I can't remember who said it but it was something like "to be loved is to be seen" and that's what this pillow reminds me of - it's really kind and generous. Big hugs, CoCo
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet CoCo, I love that sentiment. You always have such thoughtful reminders to share with us all. He really enjoyed his pillows, now I want to make so many more ideas printing on fabric.
DeleteHi Cara! This is such a wonderful and thoughtful gift idea! I adore the vintage vibe and know your husband will be thrilled! Now I want to try putting a vintage picture on a pillow! Thanks for the inspiration friend!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you enjoyed this one Donna, I was pleasantly surprised with how the printing on fabric turned out. He loves his pillows, and I have to say, I kind of love them too. I can never let a vintage photo pass me by unnoticed.
DeleteThis is such a cool idea, and I love the look of the vintage photo. It seems to be a fairly easy to follow process, it's something I would like to have a go at making!
ReplyDeleteThank you Molly! I had a lot of fun with this gift for my husband and he loved the idea. There are so many more ideas I have now that I have printed on fabric, and it went surprisingly well. ;) I can't wait to see what you create.
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