I have been at it again…creating another pillow! The beginning of the school year is on my mind since my oldest grandson is starting middle school…sniff! And, as a retired teacher, I always feel a strange little tug to buy new pencils and start putting up posters around the beginning of August. Sooo…I decided to make one that I have had on the back burner for a long time that sports a vintage French typewriter graphic.
Just in case you are wondering about the whereabouts of my scheduled co-hostess Miss Isabella…she is busy going nose to nose with the neighbor’s cat through the back door...so I will be going it alone once again.
And here’s the graphic! I found it here at Marie Claire Idées and loved it! It features a typewriter with a typical French keyboard…not a QWERTY like ours. First, I tweaked it a little…making it black instead of turquoise. (If you prefer the turquoise, just click on Téléchargez le motif de machine à écrire at the bottom of Marie Claire's page.) Next, I flipped it and printed it on iron-on transfer paper…found at craft and office supply stores. I like Avery brand and usually use the one for light fabrics. My typewriter is a little fatter than the one above because I used the stretch setting on Photoscape when I printed it.
I followed the directions on the package and applied it to a scrap of linen fabric. A word of advice…iron, iron iron and when you think it’s enough, iron some more. Next, I cut around it, leaving the frayed edges, and stitched it to the front of my pillow cover. I used a charcoal grey linen remnant that I found for about $2.50 for a yard…woo hoo! The script on the graphic says It is a beautiful story… Love it!
I used a scrap of burlap from my stash for the back of the pillow cover. I have discovered that it is super easy to make envelope style closures (tutorial here) and they allow me to reuse my down pillow forms…all Goodwill find for under $3.00. And best of all…I don’t have a huge stack of pillows to store! I just put the covers in a drawer!
And here it is! I am going to enjoy this one! It just feels like fall and cooler weather are approaching! And I am ready for some cooler weather! How about you?
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my vintage French typewriter pillow! Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!
Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party
Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday (first Monday of the month)
Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Beth at The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Anita at Cedar Hill Ranch for Cowgirl Up! on Tuesdays
Kristin at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design for Sizzle into Summer
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
See you next time! A la prochaine!
Another masterpiece! Everybody likes french pillows or old typewriters or BOTH!
ReplyDeleteAnother great job, Debbie. Love it.
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteI adore your newest Frenchy pillow, dear friend!!! I finally got up the courage and tackled the sewing machine to make my Vintage button Christmas pillows!!! Still hate to sew...but I L O V E our new Christmas pillows! Thanks for all the support and inspiration that I recieve from you and your Staff. Speaking off which...those ears in that position are a definite sign of defense! Hope the other cat wises up and moves on!!!
Fondly,
Pat
Very cute...you must have a ton of pillows.
ReplyDeleteOh- what a cute pillow. I just picked up an old typewriter. My dd found it actually and I just love it- now to find the perfect spot for it- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful pillow! I poked around Marie Claire for a bit and wisheed I had more than the 2 years of high school French so very many years ago! Thank you for sharing your source!
ReplyDeleteWow!You are 'the pillow lady'. That is so cool. Are kids really going back to school already? Around here it is another few weeks. Oh those cats, they make me laugh. Hugs, Deb
ReplyDeletethis is wonderful, love the "industrial" frenchiness of it! gosh, I wish you'd start an Etsy shop!!
ReplyDeleteDebbie, you are just going to have to open your own little Etsy shop!
ReplyDeleteLove to you and the staff!
xo, Bonnie
Another great idea! Hard to believe you little guy is starting middle school.
ReplyDeleteWith each creation, you amaze me that much more!!! :) Love your pillow! Very cute and charming!
ReplyDeleteAnother fabulous masterpiece Debbie, I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteTres manifique! Love that print....
ReplyDeleteAnother great pillow, Debbie! I have to start doing envelope closures; it makes so much more sense especially since I don't have the room to store the pillows themselves. It's probably cheaper, too!
ReplyDeleteWell that is just gorgeous now!! I had no idea the layout of the keys was different on old French typewriters!
ReplyDeleteI felt right at home looking at the back of your kitty's head. That scene has played out MANY times here at our house when our indoor kitty(ies) spy a neighbor's cat peeking in at them! Oh my gosh, I LOVED how you were right there at the right time and angle - priceless!... Donna
Oh how cute and I LOVE the words. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to get out my sewing machine when this biz is behind me and start making some projects like these. You have so inspired me beyond words. I love the stare off with your baby. Too funny. Are they in love? :)
xxoo, Barb
A great pillow, love it Debbie. What a cute pic of Miss Isabella and her neighbor. I can tell from those ears she's not happy about her visitor! So adorable.
ReplyDelete~Emily
The French Hutch
That is just the cutest pillow design EVER!
ReplyDeleteJeanine
That's a perfect pillow!
ReplyDeleteI love it. Looks fabulous. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteDebbie you never cease to amaze me with your wonderful pillows! This one is so cute with the typewriter! Love the linen front also. Happy week my friend. Hugs, Linda
ReplyDeleteWhat a winner! This is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the color and texture of this pillow. You make it sound pretty easy to do, also!
ReplyDeleteAngela
I love your pillow, Debbie! Sooo cute! Your cohost is cracking me up...priorities, the girl has priorities! ;)
ReplyDeleteAnother fantastic pillow creation!...Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteChe bel cuscino! Baci dall'Italia!
ReplyDeleteCiao Lieta
I love the colors you chose. Such a great typewriter design. (And cute photo of the felines.)
ReplyDeleteYour printed pillow makes this typewriter junkie's heart go: click! click! LOVE IT!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so darling. LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great pillow...so unique!
ReplyDelete♥Linsey
You make the coolest pillows. I love this one too.
ReplyDeleteGreat pillow! I love the typewriter graphic.
ReplyDeleteChere Deborah, when I scrolled to this post on my RSS feed, I literally GASPED! When I was a little girl, my dad was an officer of the Knights of Columbus, and I would type his financial reports on a typewriter like this (lots...of...strength to strike those keys!). Later, when I was a freelance copywriter, I used a typewriter as sort of a tongue-in-cheek logo.
ReplyDeleteI will absolutely be making this as a little gift to myself -- thank you!
Judith
You have such a creative mind - love the new pillow:o)
ReplyDeleteRose H
x
There is something so delightful about vintage typewriters...and of course, it has nothing to do with me being a "champion" manual typist...98 words per minute, no errors in 1970. LOL You should have heard me on the first Selectrics...it sounded like machine gun fire.
ReplyDeleteLove your pillow! Beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful project this is, I love this pillow, the colors and the vintage type writer are perfect, great job, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteLove it, Debbie.
ReplyDeleteThe nose to nose shot is cute!!
i love this! there's just something about this, whether it's the nod to writing, or the blue/typewriter/burlap combo, but i love it!
ReplyDeleteVery cute, and I love the tattered edges. It adds to the vintage feel.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful idea, Debbie--I'd love something like this in our upstairs office--it would be perfect! I'll have to give this a try--it's lovely!
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot--Miss Isabelle--defending her turf or making a friend--very hard to tell with cats at first! Loved the back of her fuzzy head!
ReplyDeleteThe pillow is beautiful! And I can tell from the way your assistant's ears are sort of down that she is not a happy camper. (How did you number your comments? Email me at brendakula@gmail.com if you don't mind...)
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Love it! I can see this in my spare room/office/wardrobe/junk room.
ReplyDeletelove this so much, thanks for sharing, found you on Funky Junk! I am obsessed with vintage typewriters and cameras!
ReplyDeletexo Debi
Very very nice!!! I would love for you to drop by My Dream Canvas. I am also hosting a giveaway to win a 50 dollar gift card to HomeGoods. Do please enter the giveaway if you like :)
ReplyDeleteSo many cute projects Debbie! Another great one. Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteSherry
Hi, just found your blog via Pinterest and I love all your fab ideas. I love to decorate my home with English words and not French words. I wonder if I will be able to ever find the French style with English words? :)
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteI recently found you through Pinterest as well. Thank you so much for the wonderful ideas and decor. I love them!!!
I had to scroll down for long time to get to the comment box. You are very popular, I sure know why, your projects, I'll be busy making pillow covers for days. Love to make them so it's a really good thing. You've given me so much to work with. If my pillow covers don't sell I'll really wonder why.
ReplyDeleteI can't afford to make covers with linen, use osnaburg, duck cloth canvas and paint cloths. My machine won't sew burlap so I use what will work for me to make a well made sturdy and washable pillow cover. Just so happens Hobby Lobby has the duck cloth on sale this week so will be getting as much as I can. I just love making pillow covers, quick and easy. Happy days
I LOVE the pillow!!!
ReplyDeleteLove this Debbie!
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteThis pillow is one of my favorites that you have made. (Seems like I say that about everything you make. :)) Love the French keyboard on the typewriter and the French phrase....
Judith