Painted Pillow With Monogram Print Canvas

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DIY Monogram Pillow
Wow, I “made” a pillow.  You may have noticed, there aren’t sewing projects here at SBLC.  I don’t do that.  I think about doing it occasionally, but it doesn’t happen.  Here is a project, sans sewing, that includes printing on canvas drop cloth material, painting a pillow with fabric paint, and attaching fabric to fabric using liquid stitch.  Easily and quickly make yourself a beautiful, custom, decorative pillow!

Graphics Fairy Pillow DIY

 

Supplies:

  • Old Pillow (Mine is a Goodwill score)
  • Martha Stewart Decorative Paint by Plaid and Fabric Medium
  • Drop Cloth Canvas cut to 8.5×11
  • Graphic image (I used frame image from Graphics Fairy, and put the letters in with Photoshop)
  • Inkjet Printer
  • Spray Adhesive
  • Paintbrush
  • Ribbon
  • Stitch Witchery
  • Liquid Stitch or other fabric glue

Monogram Painted Pillow

Instructions:

  • Mix paint with fabric medium as directed and paint your pillow!  It felt kinda cool to be painting a pillow.  I got some strange glances from family members wandering by,  but who has a an awesome pillow now?

Martha Stewart Fabric Paint

TIP:  The instructions for the fabric paint medium said to let dry for 24 hours.  I needed to add another coat over the black area of the pillow, so I dried the pillow immediately after the first coat with my heat tool.  Then I added the second coat and let dry overnight.

  • While your pillow is drying, you can prepare your image on your canvas piece.  Go on over to Graphics Fairy, and get yourself a lovely free image (I used this image).  Cut it to fit your printer, and using spray adhesive, adhere the canvas piece to a piece of photo printer paper or to cardstock.  A regular old thin piece of printer paper isn’t sturdy enough.  Insert the piece into your inkjet printer, fabric side down, and print your image.
  • Cut your image to the desired size, fuze ribbon to frame it with Stitch Witchery, then glue the piece onto your dried pillow using Liquid Stitch.  Let dry overnight.  You are done!

No Sew Monogram Pillow DIY

What do you think.  I love it.  The pillow is a little “crunchy” from the paint, but let’s face it, it isn’t meant to be functional.  Not bad for a new sew project!

Anthropologie Wall Art Knock Off

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Anthropologie Wall Decor

I saw this on Anthropologie’s wall decor product page, and wanted it for my mustard wall in the family room.  Then I looked at the price tag ($698) and knew I was going to have to recreate it if it were going to be on my wall.  This was so very simple you guys.  I opened up Photoshop,  used watercolor brushes to mimic the print, uploaded it to Snapfish, and picked it up at my local Miejer Store a couple of hours later!

Anthropologie Decor Knock OffI ordered a 16×20 print cause that is the biggest I can get same day for the price ($6.98).  When I am not in a hurry, I use Short Run Posters for my large format printing, cause they rock (see this post).  I could go on and on about them, but that is a different topic.  Suffice it to say, SUPER cheap, great quality large format prints.

Anthropologie Wall Decor

After I picked up my print, I hit my local Goodwill and found a perfect square frame for $5.  I removed the pic that was in it, cut mine to fit and that is that. It looks as awesome as I thought it would against the yellow wall, and I spent very little time and money.  Mine is 16×16 versus the Anthropologie version, which is 29×29 in, but did you see the price difference???  16×16 inches is perfect for the space.

Anthropologie Decor Knock Off

Sometimes, I really must get messy with paints and gel medium, but digital art has its perks.  Instant gratification being my favorite!  There are debates on what is right and wrong in terms of copyright, something I have been pondering lately.  Here is why I have no problem knocking off this wall art; I am not selling it.  It is for my personal enjoyment, and to hopefully inspire others to decorate beautifully for less.  More importantly, giving credit where credit is due is just the only way to make being a copycat o.k.  All art is inspired by other art, or nature (God’s art, in my opinion).  Very little is truly original  I in no way came up with this design.  It was all Paule Marrot, the artist of the original piece, and Anthropologie.  I full on copied it, adding some vibrancy, and going with a black instead of white frame.  So, what do you think?

Anthropologie Decor Knock Off

The Chris Bateson Experience; T-Shirt Transfer Project

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Inkjet Tshirt Transfers

You know when a crafty blogger posts a project tutorial, but it is clear that the real purpose of the post is to drive home how talented and amazing her family happens to be?  This is one of those.  Yes, you will see how I made a custom t-shirt using HP inkjet t-shirt transfer sheets, but what I hope you walk away with is the knowledge that my stepson rocks, and so does the barbershop quartet to which he belongs.

[Read more…]

Amsterdam Printing: Custom Promotional Items Galore

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I am always on the lookout for businesses that can place my designs onto products.  Recently I was introduced to AmsterdamPrinting.com and am excited to pass along this wonderful source for everything from tote bags to t-shirts to carabiners, all customized to your specifications!

There are loads of companies that offer these services, but some things stand out to me about AmsterdamPrinting.com.  They have a monster selection of promotional items, and lower pricing compared to competitors (click GOPromos promotional items).  I love the idea of handing out something besides business cards at craft shows, something people will actually use instead of just toss in the trash can.  The pens and coffee mugs are great, and I am loving the idea of personal notepads since I am always jotting down ideas.  


 I am most interested in their T-shirts, as I want to have some of the “word art” designs I incorporate into my pendants placed on shirts.  They have a wide variety of styles to choose from.  I am placing an order for a couple of samples of the shirts pictured with my designs.  I will report back once I get them!  



Free Shipping and 40% Discount on Photo to Canvas

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Just thought I would pass along this deal. My friend Shannon asked me to doctor her photo before having it printed by Canvas People. She is taking advantage of this holiday deal. You probably have seen the free 8×10 canvas deal floating around blog land. Seems like they have some kind of deal going on all the time at Canvas People. I have not personally ordered one since I am still drooling over Infarrantly Creative’s Z-Gel technique she did on the photographs I transformed into pop art for her. Awesome tutorial here that I eventually plan to tackle.

Shannon had me edit photos of her youngest 2 children (shown here), which she ordered from Canvas People. There was a green tint when she got one of them in the mail, which CP replaced without question at no cost to Shannon. She is happy with the outcome of her first 2, and sent me this photo of her oldest…


I edited the original in photoshop to this…


Take advantage of this great deal, and turn your memories into canvas art. Or, if you are a diehard DIYer, give Beckie’s tutorial a shot over at IC. If you need your photo edited, I am happy to do it to your specifications for $10. Just contact me, or leave a comment and we can get started. Happy New Year!!!!!

Color Photos to Retro BW With Photoshop; And Free Canvas Print WIth Shipping

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Whenever Shannon contacts me to do photo editing, I know it is going to turn into a blog post because her kids are crazy adorable. Today, she asked me to take color photos to black and white, leaving Madelyn’s flower pink. She is opting to take advantage of this offer over at Canvas People where you can get a free photo to canvas print when you pay shipping and handling.

I used photoshop to adjust the contrast, change to black and white, and to give the pics a retro feel. For the flower, I selected it before desaturating the pic, and made it into a new layer, which I blended of the black and white version using color mode. A whole bunch of stuff that only makes sense to you if you are familiar with photoshop. There are loads of tutorials out there. Play with your photos and get your free canvas print while you can.
I leave you with a yesterday’s wreath project, spray painted white, and photo edited…

Tip on Large Format Photo Prints

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Before I started selling my art prints online, I had a local gallery wall. I would order prints myself, and frame them using second hand frames I had refinished.
During that time, I explored many different photo printing options. I still occasionally need this service. I have found 2 options to be high quality and frugal friendly…
1. Short Run Posters – This is an online service that prints 18×24 for $2 per print, with their logo branded on the back, or $4 without their logo. I always order with logo, since I framed the prints before selling them. The logo was small and only visible on the back of the print. At either price, these are obscenely cheap. I thought it was a joke, but have used this company several times, no problems. I have 3 of the prints hanging on my walls. They look great. A great option if you are not in a hurry, as it usually took about 8 days from order to arrival. There is also a flat fee for shipping of $10. They are based in Tennessee and use UPS for shipping.
2. Snapfish in Store pick-up – I pick up my prints at Meijer near my house. I upload the desired image, and an hour later I pick up my 16×20 inch prints for $6.97. The quality is great. This is perfect for when someone wants a project quickly. They have been behind before, but only a couple of hours, and they gave me a discount for waiting.
Let me know if you have questions. Or if you know of great large format printing options for the frugal minded. Comments make me happy…
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