Do you all remember when I said in my home tour video that I wanted to do some kind of project that involved my marriage license? Well, teaming up with Canon USA, I’m making good on that today. I decided I wanted to try and make a few small throw pillows for our living room couch that showcase some found papers. I used our marriage license, a movie ticket stub, a plane ticket stub and a hockey game ticket stub (my first hockey game!). I would rate these high on the quirky factor, and I seriously LOVE how they turned out.
This is a similar idea to making a photo plush (like this one). The main difference, other than the subject matter, is I didn’t need a camera for this project. Weird, right?
Instead, I used my Canon PIXMA MG7520 to scan the documents before I put them into Photoshop. It’s actually our primary scanner in the studio because it gets the best quality. I certainly could have just taken a photo of the documents instead, but I wanted to see if a blown up scanned version would give the prints a more paper document feel—if that makes any sense? I really like the results!
Supplies:
-found papers (legal documents, old ticket stubs, any paper memorabilia will do)
-fabric transfer sheets
-scissors
-cotton fabric
-iron
-sewing machine (or you could hand-stitch if you have the time)
-needle and thread
-Poly-fil
–Canon PIXMA MG7520 photo printer
For all four pillows, my cost for this project was around $28 (not including tools).
Step One: Scan and photoshop your documents. For me this meant enlarging some of the scans so I could turn them into small pillows for my couch. Enlarging will cause some distortion or pixelation in your images, especially if you make them WAY larger than they originally were. I personally liked this look as it makes the documents seem more authentic to me.
In Photoshop be sure to “Flip Canvas Horizontal” as this will create a mirrored look. You want the images to print with the words backwards so that when you transfer them to your fabric, they will be the correct orientation.
Step Two: Print and trim your scanned images. If you can trim your edges so they are slightly rounded, this usually helps your transfers stay flat once you iron them on.
You might be thinking, “But what if I want to make a pillow/plush that is larger than my transfer paper (8.5×11)?” You can choose to tile your images and print two (or more) sheets.
Here you can see I tiled my marriage license and printed it on two different sheets so I could make a larger pillow. Try to divide your image in a space that is less busy. This will make it easier to line up.
Step Three: Follow your fabric transfer instructions to iron the images onto your fabric. Remember to leave plenty of seam allowance so you can easily sew with the fabric after.
In the above photo, I wanted to show you how much I enlarged this plane ticket stub (from a trip Elsie and I went on this year). One thing I didn’t notice before I printed this was how the ticket has subtle yellow and blue lines throughout, which became much more prominent when I printed.
Step Four: Stitch up your pillow and fill with Poly-Fil. Since all of my documents/ticket stubs were square or rectangle in shape, they were extremely easy to quickly stitch together on my sewing machine. If you’d like a more in-depth tutorial on how to make a pillow, click here.
I just finished these up last week, and I can’t wait to have guests over. I have a feeling these are going to be a conversation starter. 🙂 Thanks for letting me share my project! xo. Emma
I Think it is unique idea for make decorative pillows.
http://www.pillowsandpillows.com/sofa-pillows.html
Love this idea! Especially as a wedding anniversary gift!
ISOSCELLA | isoscella.blogspot.co.uk
I love this idea! It not only looks super cool, but it’s a fun way to display memories! I’ll have to try making some for my home.
Laura
http://laurahager.blogspot.com
I love this idea. I’m inspired now to do something with my dads birth certificate and his school reports. He passed away 20 years ago and I’ve wanted to have a way to have them did played but different from the usual framed way. Thanks so much 🙂
That’s such a good idea! You use this print for a lot of DIY, it looks necessary to have one! 🙂
Amazing as always!
That is a really cool idea! I had just finished watching your home tour and wondered what you might do with the marriage certificate then stumbled upon this project. Brilliant!! My son is getting married this fall. He proposed to his fiancé by escorting her on a scavenger hunt with riddles and poems he had written that chronicled their relationship by revisiting some of their memorable date spots and hangouts where their Love blossomed. I would love to get those hand written notes and do something like this with them as part of their wedding or shower gifts. What a sweet project! Thanks for sharing 🙂
These are the cutest set of pillows ever!
This is brilliant! Love love love.
Is it washable? I thought inkjet ink was water soluble.
I LOVEEEEE!!!!
I absolutely ADORE this idea!!!!
very creative and fun idea. plus throw pillows, i mean who doesn’t love those haha
I love the idea of using throw pillows to celebrate one’s nuptials.
Happy Friday!
This is such an awesome idea! Can’t wait to try it out. x
This is such a cute idea, I love it! I would love to do this with my marriage license. 🙂
Tamara
www.trulytamara.com
These turned out awesome! What a neat idea!
How cool is your husband’s name? What?! Very fancy.
This is SUCH a cute idea. I totally want to do this with our marriage certificate. Love the ticket stubs too… What fun!
what a neat idea!
xx nikki
www.dream-in-neon.com