CSI Project Challenge: Martha Inspired DIY Printer Fabric Pillows

Martha's people from the Crafts Department are going to be guest judges for this week's CSI challenge! So I am dragging out all my best Martha Wannabe projects. This is the second to last week of school and I am way over my head with wrapping up the year to be doing new projects-although I am sooo tempted to try!


Without further ado- my favorite Martha Inspired Projects-


Print on Fabric Pillows

I still remember where I was in May of 2008 when Martha aired a rerun of this Growth Chart Project.  I had long admired projects using printer fabric, but the price of those sheets made it a bit spendy for me. I believe that was also the spring of threatened $5 gas and I was trying my best to limit my trips to Joannes. All in all, I was in a use what you have mode.

Like an angel of crafting mercy Martha showed how to make your own printer paper out of muslin and fusible web. I had both of those at home! My sister-friend, Piper, had a birthday just around the corner. Inspiration hit like lightning and I created this Chic- Flick quote pillow. Using favorite scraps of vintage sheets and other light blue fabrics I pieced together a collection of quotes from all her favorite movies.

This pillow was my first quilting project and it was far from perfect, however it was a truly personal and unique gift. I burned the midnight oil to get it done-thus the dark pictures. In spite of some flaws, I love this pillow and all the memories of our girls movie nights.

That same summer, my other roommate and sister friend, Kate came to visit me. We spent a long, hot, yet lovely day at the UCLA / LA Times Book Fair. We reminisced about some of our favorite books and Kate told me that as a child she read all the books Garth Williams illustrated.

I had only just dropped her off at LAX when I sewed up this printer fabric pillow for her birthday the following month.

Garth Williams, a bird and a cupcake... perfect!


Then, later in December, I made this little door pillow for my brother and sister-in-law to be. They were planning a Paris honeymoon and this was a bit of inspiration to keep them going through the wedding planning.

Martha was definitely the first person I saw integrate computers into crafting and now I can not imagine making half my crafts without a computer, the internet and a printer!