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DIY Disney Autograph Pillows

A Disney trip wouldn’t be a Disney trip without my daughter seeing her favorite characters.  She’s seven, she’s been to Disney 7 times and on two Disney Cruise Line voyages….and still her favorite thing remains to see the characters.  She has NEVER shied away from them, except maybe Goofy at Chef Mickey’s when she was two.  I mean, he does have a long nose!  But in all our Disney character interactions, we’ve encountered nothing but smiles, hugs, and lots of magic.  Collecting Disney character autographs has become a “must do”, and we will keep doing it until she thinks she is too old!

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CUTE and easy Disney autograph idea. Pillowcases make an easy way to collect autographs, and your kids can relive the memories everyday! #disneyautographs #autographideas #disneydiy #disneycrafts

Along with those interactions comes our share of autographs.  We’ve done the traditional blue Disney Parks autograph book, she has a Disney Princess one that holds photos on one side and an autograph on the other.  We’ve branched out to taking her Little Golden Books for the princesses, and we now have all those autographed.  So for our past two Disney trips~our Mommy & Me trip and our Disney Cruise Line voyage on the Fantasy~I decided it was time to step it up a bit and get more creative with autograph collecting.   

I picked up some square pillowcases at JoAnns,  and cut a Pirate Minnie and the word BELIEVE with a Tinkerbell out of heat transfer vinyl.  To cut the designs, you need heat transfer vinyl. I used a smooth Siser Easyweed for the Minnie Mouse head and swords, and the Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl for the Minnie bow and the BELIEVE pillow.

There are two super important things to remember when using heat transfer vinyl.  First, is to load it in the machine glossy side down.  Second, is to mirror your image in your software so it looks backward on the screen before you cut it. I like to cut the same type of vinyl and then move onto the next.  That way, I don’t have to keep changing my blade and cut settings.  So for example in these projects, I cut the smooth HTV for the Minnie head and swords.  Then, I reset the blade and cut settings for the bow, Tinkerbell, and BELIEVE.

These are great projects for beginners.  There are only a few cuts involved for each pillowcase, and very little layering~just the Minnie bow placed on the Minnie head.  When it is time to iron on your design, be sure to remove any excess vinyl by weeding out the small bits, and peel off the shiny carrier sheet.  I set my iron as hot as it could go, since my pillowcases are more of a canvas material, not cotton.  Place a piece of parchment paper between your design and the iron, and press with the iron….don’t run it over the design as if you were ironing.

Now, how do the characters autograph these?  Sharpies or fabric markers?  Well, that is up to you. We started with fabric markers on the BELIEVE pillow, and I felt like they weren’t as bright or as colorful as I’d hoped.  So when we cruised, we used Sharpies on the Pirate Minnie.  I feel like it depends on how you are going to be using them when you get home. These are throw pillows on my daughter’s bed.  So she’s not sleeping on them or carrying them around.  

Since I won’t be washing them constantly I think the Sharpies will be fine.  The BELIEVE has Tink {since she has a Tinkerbell themed room} and the princesses from Cinderella’s Royal Table.  The Pirate Minnie has characters from our Disney Cruise on the Fantasy.  She also has a cute canvas tote bag that we took on our Mommy/Me trip to get the rest of the autographs.  She had SO much fun!  

We are thrilled with how they turned out!  It is definitely one of our favorite means of collecting character autographs. What is your favorite way to collect character autographs?

DIY Disney Autograph Pillows

DIY Disney Autograph Pillows

A trip to Walt Disney World isn't complete without seeing your favorite characters. You can bring the Disney memories home with these unique Disney Autograph Pillows.

Materials

  • Cotton Pillowcase Blanks
  • Pillow Inserts
  • Heat Transfer Vinyl
  • Cutting Machine
  • Sharpies
  • Iron or Heat Press
  • Parchment Paper
  • Weeding Tools

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

39 Comments

  1. What a fabulous way to be creative and spread joy to the little ones in our lives! This is certainly an activity I think kids would just love!

    1. Thank you! They have become a favorite of my daughter’s. I love personalized items, too!

  2. OMG I love these!! I really love extra personalized belongings like this – where people can sign them! Makes them that much more special! đŸ™‚ … I feel like I need to get these pillows and whenever people come over, they can sign them!!

    1. Thank you! I think personalizing things makes them extra special.

  3. I had once made two pillow cases which I found was the simplest thing to sew. I really like the disney theme though. I bet the kids would be so happy!

    1. Thanks! They would be so easy to make! But I don’t sew đŸ™‚

  4. This is a really good idea! We’ve always done autograph books, but this is a really cool way to mix it up a little! I love it!
    Happy Wednesday!
    Megs

    1. Thank you! I know, we were kind of tired of autograph books, too!

  5. Andrea Broom says:

    This sounds like something fun to do when I babysit my friends kids. Love the idea of the pillowcases.

  6. What a sweet idea! I will have to try this someday once my little one is old enough to visit Disneyland!

  7. Such a cute project. I am going to try it for my own daughter. She is as crazy about the disney characters, especially mickey mouse

  8. this is such a wonderful idea. I never thought of transferring the autograph into the pillow. My daughter would be thrilled. She has only been to Disney once and definitely its her everyday’s dream to go there again.

    1. We do, too! It’s nice to have something different, and usable.

  9. Jenni Petrey says:

    What a brilliant idea to keep memories from fading, love it!

  10. They are amazing don’t know about kids I want them for myself đŸ˜€

  11. Kristi Pohl says:

    Did you set the autographs somehow afterward or just put the pillow in and call it done?

    1. Hi, Kristi! I did not do anything to set them. I just put the pillow in and it was done. Now, my daughter has these on her bed as a decorative pillow. So they aren’t being slept on, or anything to rub against the autographs. So if you use them as an actual pillow, you may want to do something to set them….but I am not sure what you would do….

  12. I absolutely love this idea. It’s so creative! And I love the vinyl designs you put on there.

    1. Thank you! It was so easy to manage, too. Now she has some cute throw pillows on her bed!

  13. These are really cute, and such a great way for kids to keep their memories close to them!

  14. I love this idea! It’s simple, not bulky to pack or carry and every night they can be reminded of a wonderful trip to Disney!

    1. Thank you! That is something that I loved…it fit so well in our park bag, and wasn’t a pain like a big book.

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