Introducing Guest Designer Taryn!

Hi everyone! I'm Taryn and I blog over at Design, Dining + Diapers. I'm honored to be sharing a project I made with Samantha's gorgeous fabric and Silhouette graphics.

For this project I used Samantha's Vintage White Cotton Fabric and Bird Cage Silhouette Graphic to create this vintage inspired decorative pillow.

The Vintage White Fabric is gorgeous and I loved working with it and the graphic is something I've had my eye on for a long time. I was thrilled to see it was part of Samantha's collection.

Supplies Needed For This Project:

- 1 Yard Samantha Walker Vintage White Fabric

- Samantha Walker Bird Cage Print/Cut Silhouette Graphic

- Heat Transfer Paper and Iron

- 1 Bag Pillow Stuffing or Pillow Form

- Sewing Machine/Serger/Thread/Pins, etc.

Now, are you ready?

Import the graphic into a new Silhouette project and size it to 10.5 X 5.5 ". Next, using the paint tool fill the graphic with gray (4th color on the top row).

Because we are going to iron-on the image, we'll need to flip the image so it prints backwards. To do this, go to the 'Replicate' tab and choose 'Mirror Right'. Then delete your original graphic since you won't need it anymore.

Choose the 'Print' option and print the graphic onto heat transfer paper using an ink jet printer.

Place the paper face down on your fabric.

*Note: In general, when transferring images you'll want to trim the excess paper around the image before ironing it onto the surface because it leaves a clear layer wherever the paper touches. But since we are going to cover the outside edges of the graphic with fabric, I chose to leave it.

Press the iron firmly on top of paper and iron until you start to see the image through the paper. Make sure you iron over the whole image and get all the edges.

Let the paper cool for a few seconds and then slowly peel it back. If you come across an area that didn't transfer very well, put the paper back in place and iron the spot again.

Once you transfer the image, trim the fabric to your desired pillow size. My pillow is 15X16".

Using the left over fabric, cut two additional pieces at 15X16". One will be used as your 'Window' and the other will be for the back of the pillow.

Take one of the 15X16" pieces and cut out a 6"X11" window (if you are using my measurements).

Place the window piece directly on top of the graphic and pin.

Top-stich around the window using a contrasting thread color and leaving a 1/4" seam. I left the edges raw because I love giving my projects a little rustic flair.

Take the remaining 15X16" piece of Vintage White Fabric and pin it to the other piece, with right sides together.

Sew (or serge) around the edges, leaving a 3-4" opening on one side. I prefer to leave the opening on the bottom of the pillow so the finishing seam is less visible.

Stuff the pillow with pillow stuffing then close your opening using either a top-stich on the sewing machine or by hand.

And now you have a chic vintage inspired pillow!

To view more projects, or if you just wanted to say hi, you can find me on my blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google + and Twitter!

Thanks for having me over today Samantha :)