Guest blogger: Scissors & Spatulas

We are SO stinkin excited to have Jen here today!
She is uber talented and adored by the sweet blogging community {her projects are rockin' the American Crafter contest. Woot woot!} Jen is just darling and SO sweet in person, too. We hope you ♥ her as much as we do!
Take it away, girlfriend! xo

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First, I must thank Kelli & Kristi for having me here at Lolly Jane!  My name is Jen and my blog is Scissors & Spatulas.

 I met these adorable and sweet girls at Girls’ Night Out in AZ while I was there for Creative Estates. Believe me, they are just as cute as their blog! ;)  The crazy part is that as much as I love these girls and their projects, right now we are competitors over at Nap Time Crafters American Crafter Competition! And while I’m “in it to win it” {as Randy Jackson would say}, I wish these girls the best of luck too because they are amazing!

I'm very excited to be here today to show you how to make a monogrammed bolster pillow. If you don't know what a bolster is, don't worry, I didn't know that is what they were called either until just a week ago! It's basically a cylinder-shaped pillow.

Here's mine:

M for McAliley {pronounced mac-uh-lilly} and our family was established in 2004 when we were married.

These are actually really easy to make. Here is what you'll need:

         Fabric (I used burlap), freezer paper, acrylic paint and stencil brush and ribbon.

First I used my Cricut to make the monogram stencil. Simply place the freezer paper on the mat {shiny side down}and cut out whatever you want transfered to your fabric. If you don't have a cutting machine, you can certainly trace or print a letter on the freezer paper and use an exacto knife to cut it out.  Once you have your letter cut, place it on the fabric and use a hot iron {steam off} to adhere the freezer paper to the fabric.

 *Note: the freezer paper did not completely stick to burlap. I used packaging tape around the edges to help keep it in place.

If you've never stenciled before, there is a technique to help ensure the paint does not bleed under the paper. Squeeze a small puddle of paint onto a plate. Dip your brush in the paint and use a rolling motion to cover bristles in paint. Dab off excess on the plate and gently apply to fabric using dotting and circular motions: 

Once the paint is dry, remove the freezer paper.

{I had a little boo boo with one of my zeros. I used a wet tissue to try to remove some of the paint. Ooops, mistakes happen!}

Measure and cut your fabric to the desired size and sew a hem around all edges. If you do not have a sewing machine you could do this with hemming tape. 

{Because I used burlap, I added an extra layer of fabric so that it wouldn't be see through. That is the extra "flap" you see.}

 Fold the fabric in half horizontally making sure your monogram is on the inside. Pin the edge and then sew. Invert the fabric so your monogram is now on the outside.

Slide your pillow into the center of the sleeve leaving equal amounts of excess fabric on each side. {If you do not have a pillow to use, you can use a sheet of Styrofoam or poly fil batting.} Just roll it into a cylinder to fit inside your fabric:

Secure the ends of the pillow with ribbon:

Now proudly display your new pillow in your home! 

Thanks Lolly Jane girls for having me today!
And good luck this week in American Crafter!

I hope you'll stop by my blog to look around a bit!