Fall Farmhouse Tea Towel Pillows

 

It's almost fall, ya'all! What better way to celebrate the season of cool breezes, crisp apples, colorful leaves and plump pumpkins than with some cozy farmhouse style pillows?

Step 1: Tea Towels

I bought some awesome white towels from Walmart in the kitchen towel section. They are Mainstays

brand Flour Sack Towels in white. The fabric has an awesome farmhouse look and feel. The first step is to IRON your towel. They are very wrinkly, which isn't a bad thing since the look I was going for was casual, but I wanted my image transfer to be crisp.

Step 2: CitraSolv

There is a handy, delicious smelling orange cleaner out there called CitraSolv. It is heavenly! And it's awesome for transferring inkjet printed images onto fabric! **This transfer method does not work with laser printers. Only inkjet. Grab a little glass jar and a small housepaint brush for this.

Step 3: Print your picture... backwards!
I always mess up this step. I printed the entire image on four different sheets of paper before I realized I had forgotten to flip it. I use Photoshop to create a document the same size as my pillow. (In this case, around 22x22 inches). Then I crop each section to fit an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and print them, line them up and tape them. I'm sorry if this is confusing. You may want to start with an image that can fit a standard sheet of paper... just don't forget to flip it backwards! If you don't have Photoshop, you can do this in MS Word by inserting Word Art, choosing Rotate and Flip Horizontal. You can do it with pictures, too.

Step 4: Transfer the image.
Once you have your (backwards) image place it on the tea towel so the ink is touching the fabric. Make sure it's centered. Tape the corners in place. Then lightly brush the CitraSolv onto the back of the image. Use a tablespoon to rub the image and transfer it to the fabric. After rubbing the entire image, gently lift it to be sure it transferred. It's very difficult to line it up again. I've never been successful doing it.


Step 5: Sew & stuff your pillow! And then repeat and make a few more! :)



 

 

 

 

The files for these designs are available on my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyPorchPrints

 

Resize as needed and remember to FLIP them so they are backwards before you print! :)

 

 

Junky Toy Truck

 

So, this weekend was my birthday. Yes, thank you. :) To celebrate, Hubby took me to an event called Junk Jubilee. It's held twice each year at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in a big ole building. The place is just teeming with vendors. So much junk. So many antiques. My mind was exploding from vintage-junky-shabby overload.

 

We took daughter #2 with us and explored aisle after aisle, row upon row of everything from handmade jewelry to farmhouse finds, pristine antiques to dumpster treasure... and even some fried cheese. Which is awesome, BTW.

 

I didn't have an agenda. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I did manage to find a few things and get a few new ideas (stamped white feathers=LOVE).

 

My first find was a cute little metal ampersand or "and" sign. It's tiny and gray and perfect. The next find was even better... a chippy metal toy truck. I picked it up and walked around with it for a few minutes. Then set it back down. Then picked it up again to show Hubby and daughter #2.

 

Twenty-five bucks. I mean, it wasn't a bad price, but with such a cornucopia of antiques at my fingertips, surely I could find one I liked as much.... maybe for less? Right?

 

My dilemma: one year I went to Junk Jubilee and found an old rusty scale for twelve dollars. I didn't get it, and I'm still kicking myself... even though I now own two rusty antique scales. It's a hoarder thing. And a deal-finder thing.

 

So, here is this truck. All last Christmas I'm Pinning photos of little metal toy trucks with tiny Christmas trees in the back and thinking, "I'm going to DO that!" Just as soon as I get my mitts on a toy truck.

 

Now, back to Junk Jubilee. Little toy truck. Just right. But is it too much?

 

I set it down and decide to look around. If you love something let it go, right? Well, I made it two aisles before we spot a huge display of trucks. Hubby saw it first, and we both rush over for a closer look. They are all cute little metal trucks. I have my pick of any!

 

New dilemma: I don't really like the color on these. But, they're still in the running. We flip one over to check the price tag. Sixty bucks. OUCH. SIXTY. BUCKS! 

 

The rest are all similarly priced, and by that time my feet were really killing me. So, I turn a frantic face to Hubby, and he just knows. (Bless that man!)

 

"I'll get it," he says.

 

A few minutes later, he came back with a bag carrying my new (old) toy truck.

 

I regret nothing.

 

Except the cheese. :)