GUEST POST ~ Charm Bracelet Diva ~ FRENCH MONOGRAMMED PILLOW ~

When I posted THIS POST asking for help, and then sent an email to my blogfy friends, I never expected so many people to respond.I am blessed with wonderful friends, and I had a ton of ladies, who were more than willing to keep you all entertained while I get better, or get some sleep, or paint my garage, whatever, he he. The point is that I am SUPER lucky, super THANKFUL, and SUPER excited to introduce you all to Kathleen from
CHARM BRACELET DIVA
Ok, what can I say about Kathleen, gosh, she is amazing. She is definitely the kind of gal I think I would  LOVE shopping with. Well thrift store shopping anyway, since she loves that kind of place, just like me. She is also very much into vintage, which I adore, but really have no idea about, so checking out her blog is always a treat. I'm always seeing new things, and learning along the way, it's awesome. She used to blog mostly about her fabulous jewelry, until blogland got the best of her, and now she blogs about awesome projects she does too, and she always does an incredible job on them. So I'm really happy to have her share her fabulousness with you today!!


Take it away Kathleen, show us what you got!


I'm so excited to be guest-posting here today at Bella Before and After!

I'm Kathleen from Charm Bracelet Diva.  I absolutely love blogging, and sharing my creations with you, my bloggy friends!  Charm Bracelet Diva is how I share my love of all things vintage, shabby, chipped, Goodwill~ed (I think I just created a new word!?) and repurposed.  My blog started out as a jewelry blog, but it has since grown to include DIY crafts and home decor as well.

Here's a few of my projects:

Ballard Design-inspired Gilded Chalkboard

Pottery Barn-inspired book bundles

Vintage Watch and Charm Necklace

Vintage Charm Bracelet

I hope you'll stop by soon and see what it's all about!

Now for today's post I'd like to share a new tutorial for making your very own French graphic monogrammed pillow! And the best part?  It's NO-SEW! (Well, almost....)  Yup.  If I can do it, you can, too.

First, here's what you'll need:

Iron-on transfer paper.  I got mine at Office Depot.

Flour sack towels.  You can pick them up pretty inexpensively at Wal-Mart.

Stitch Witchery.  I got mine at Jo-Ann's.  And remember, Stitch Witchery is your friend.

- Glue gun and glue sticks

- Your chosen graphic saved to your computer

- Pillow form insert (I used a 14" by 14" insert)

- Iron

- Needle and thread (okay, so a little hand sewing IS done at the end to pull the pillow together....take a deep breath now....as I said, if I can do it, so can you!)

Now for starters, I got the monogrammed "A" image from my friend Peggy over at Vintage Feedsacks on Etsy.  (I'm adding all things French to my list of loves these days.)  I purchased the monogram with a laurel wreath and a crown.  Peggy will create your monogram for you ~ no worries there!  She also has MANY other awesome graphics to choose from.  

My monogram image as printed out on paper.

Once you've chosen a graphic, you'll need iron-on transfer paper.  You should  test your printer first to see which side of the paper your printer actually prints on ~ so that you end up putting the transfer paper into the printer correctly.  Also, don't forget to "flip" the image in print set up before you print!  Most often you can just go to your Control Panel and set your preference for "Mirror Image: On."  And that should do it.  After you've flipped the image, print it out on regular printer paper first to make sure it was actually flipped.  If it was, go ahead and print it out onto the transfer paper!

And this is how my image looks once it's "flipped."  I know, this is just a picture of the regular printed version from the back ~ sorry but I've already "unflipped" my print set up!  But you get the idea.

Now, depending on the size you've chosen for your pillow, go ahead and cut two towels down to match the size you need, adding about an extra inch to all sides. I chose to make a 14" by 14" pillow, so I cut two 15" x 15" squares.  Then you'll need to actually iron on the transfer to one of the towels, making sure the placement is centered.  Just be sure to follow the instructions that come with the transfer sheets.

Once the transfer is complete and cool, you just place the towels' good sides together and run some Stitch Witchery tape in between the edges of the material on 3 sides, leaving one side open to hand stitch later.   Then iron according to the package instructions.

You can see the tape sticking out at the top on either side.  You'll just cut off the excess once you're done ironing it on.   Then turn the sides right side out and insert the pillow form.  Here's where the needle and thread comes into play.  Just fold the bottom edges under and in for a clean line and stitch all along the bottom to close it up.  The good news is it's white material and white thread ~ not much room for disaster there!

I chose to accent the pillow with some flour sack towel rosettes.  I used the material that was left over after I cut the towels down to size.  You can see my rosette tutorial here. 

The towels work beautifully for rolling and twisting these flowers into shape!  Once they're complete, just attach them with your handy dandy glue gun.

And now for the finished product.

I can't wait to make more pillows, and hand towels, too!  (They'll go in our updated powder room once the re-builders get finished with it!  More on THAT another day.)

That's it!  Hope you liked it!  Now be sure to stop by and visit me over at Charm Bracelet Diva.  You never know what I'll be up to.  And I'm always looking for new friends!

Speaking of friends, thanks, Bella, for the chance to post on your awesome blog!

That was so fun, I love the way those pillows turned out. 

Kathleen it was awesome having you over girl. 

THANK YOU!

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