Knock-off Monogram Pillows
| September 1, 2011 | Posted by Jessie under Crafty Things, Inspiration, Paint, Sewing Projects |
We are heading to a close family friend’s wedding this weekend and I wanted to make a little something for them to decorate their new apartment that would be meaningful and handmade {my favorite kind of gift}. I have loved these Jonathan Adler monogram pillows ever since I saw them on one of my fave shows, Guiliana and Bill {if you don’t watch it, you should. They are hilarious}.
So I decided to make my own version for the newlyweds and here is how they turned out:
I love them! You can make these very inexpensively by buying old pillows and using their inserts, rather than purchasing inserts:
Just make sure you feel them before you buy and make sure the insert has a thick and sturdy form.
I used muslin fabric for my pillows and doubled layered them because it is pretty thin. I made my go-to envelope pillows so they would be easily washable. Because I don’t have any fancy fabric cutting machine, I used the ole make-your-own-stencil method. I started my monogram design by picking a font on Word (Engravers) and printed out my letters and symbol. I used a box cutter to cut out the letter.
I then taped off the sides of my pillows for the outer framing lines. You can use painters tape or masking tape.
Then I pinned the letter stencil in the middle {I measured all sides to make sure it was centered}.
Before I started painting, I stuck some freezer paper in the insert so that the paint wouldn’t bleed through to the back. Then I just grabbed a craft brush and painted on my black fabric paint.
I did the same method with all three pillows. I removed the tape and stencil immediately after painting and let them all dry.
Then I just stuck my inserts in and pretended they were mine:)
I love how they turned out and by using thrift store pillow inserts and muslin fabric, I made all three pillows for just $11! I think they will make a great gift and be a meaningful and fun addition to their newlywed apartment:)
I’ve linked this up with Remodelaholic.
Lovely! What a great deal. Love it.
What a great project! and thrifty… gotta love that.
These are so cute! I’d love to make some letter pillows, thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!
They are just going to love these!
Love your letter pillows! They are so fun! And freezer paper is reallygreat to use. I have been using wax paper in the middle to keep paint from bleeding - just might have to try the freezer paper next time. Thank you so much for sharing at Serenity Now
How cute!!!!
Love them! Great job being creative and thrifty at the same time! Turned out fabulous! Stopping over from TT&J linky party. Blessings- Carrie
Love these! Great job!
Really well done! What did you use to make your stencil…paper? Something thicker? I’d love to try this. I also watch Giuliana & Bill…they are funny! I am getting a bit weary of the whole restaurant plot…;)
I have some perfect pillows ready for this treatment. Thanks for the inspiro to DIY!
Bernadette
[...] weekend we travelled to Chicago for our friend’s wedding {you can read more about their gift here} which was gorgeous. My mom and I had gone up to Chicago last spring and were talking to Allison [...]
[...] definitely had this post ready to go last Friday and got so excited about my monogram pillows that I threw that post up and completely spaced my monthly wrap-up. Oops. Oh well, here’s [...]
What a great gift idea! I love personalized handmade gifts and not to mention it was so inexpensive! Thanks for linking up with us at Show & Share!
Marie
mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com
I was lucky enough to have Allison and Brendan show me your pillows! I love them! Beautifully done! What a lovely,personal gift! Oh, and by the way, loved the chocolates and the inspiring step by step on how to do for the creation of the boxes.
Linda Winkler
Aw, thank you, Linda! It was a gorgeous wedding and I was very happy to be a small part of it:)
these look incredible! I love them! I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
-Nikki
http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Nikki! I didn’t make it last week, but I will link up this Tuesday!
I love typography details on projects. These are adorable. Love the font choice, too . Great job!
Thanks, Madigan!
I Love these pillows! I am sucker for monograms. In my opinion, your version is much cuter than the original! I love the tag line of your blog! Perfect!
Have a happy weekend!!
Aww, thanks Tausha! I appreciate you stopping by! Hope you had a great weekend too:)
Your pillows turned out wonderful. I don’t have any of those fancy machines either.
Ruth
And we’re both surviving just fine:)
[...] Monogram Pillows [...]
[...] them with the gray I initially used to paint the board and they were invisible:) You could always make a stencil or use a vinyl machine if you have [...]
I love these monogrammed pillows too. I haven’t tried making mine yet, however, I have read that if you use freezer paper for your stencil you can actually iron it onto your fabric, shiny side down, so there will be no slippage. I’ll let you know how it works out.
I’ve heard that too but have never taken the time to try it. Let me know how it works!
[...] last quick tutorial is the His and Hers stencils. I simply found a font I liked and created a freezer paper stencil. I measured my area, found the center, and lightly taped up the [...]