Friday, May 5, 2017

Mother's Day Gift-Great Grandmother Pillow

mustruninthefamily.com

A few years ago my husband bought me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.  I have just recently gotten the bug to figure out all the neat things you can make with it.  Originally I wanted it for scrapbooking.  Honestly, I have gotten way more interested in cutting vinyl for signs, walls, and such. 

I decided I wanted to try making some shirts for our family.  With three girls, our clothing bill is getting extreme.  The girls love to make stuff, and with this machine the T-shirts look like you bought them.  So, we decided it was time to buy a heat press.  A heat press makes this process so much easier and quicker than an iron.  It offers equal heat preventing spots that don't stick the vinyl completely to the shirt. 

I've been wanting to make my 91 year old Grandmother a gift, but what do you make the woman who has everything?  I wanted to make something she'd actually use, but also be meaningful.  I am really close to my grandmother, so I really wanted it to be special.  Her life's work and purpose was raising her family.  I wanted her to know that she is still loved.  Sometimes she needs a reminder of the people who love her, when she's having a bad day.  Which when your 91, there aren't many days she isn't in pain.  I thought this pillow would offer her comfort, remind her of her family, and just be something beautiful to look at.  I put a cute saying on the front about great Grandmas and all the names of her great grandchildren on the back.

I started by designing the pillow on my Silhouette Cameo.  I like to find fonts on dafonts.com.  They have tons that are free for personal use or very little cost for commercial use.  Don't forget to mirror your image.  I then cut out my design on HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) with my Silhouettte Cameo.  I personally like Siser Easyweed, but there are many products out there.

You could change the pillow to say:
Just when a mother thinks her work is done, someone calls her Grandma.


I decided the cheapest place to buy good quality pillows and pillow covers was at Ikea.  I settled on these.  They were about $5.


They offered the choice of a cotton pillow or feather pillow under $5.


 I opened the pillow cover and ironed it.  I then, stuck the cut HTV on top of the pillow centering it.

I put the pillow cover with HTV onto my Heat Press.  You could use an iron if you do not have a heat press.  Be careful not to burn yourself, and follow all safety instructions.


I always cover my HTV with a Teflon or Parchments paper to prevent it from coming off onto the hot surface.


I set my heat press to 315 for 15 seconds.  You might have to adjust the settings according to your particular heat press.


After the 15 seconds, I carefully removed the slip cover form the heat press.  I then removed the backing form the HTV, leaving the vinyl behind.  Check over your final product to make sure it is completely sticking to the pillow cover.

If you are not satisfied you can put it through the heat press one more time.  Don't forget your Teflon cover.


Time for the back side.  Since you have already put vinyl on the front side of the pillow cover you will need to put either a Teflon sheet or parchment paper on both front and  back of your pillow to keep the HTV from sticking to the heat press.


Repeat the steps for the heat press you used for the front of the pillow cover.




Once you are satisfied with your HTV, open your pillow and give it a good fluff.


The pillow has a huge annoying tag on it, so I cut my tag off.


Insert your pillow into the pillow cover, and there you have it a great gift in under 10 minutes.


Hope your Grandma loves her gift.

We'd love to hear how it turned out for you, so leave us a comment.

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