My bedroom is one of the most important places in my life – it’s where I do work comfortably, where I hang out and binge-watch, and most importantly, where I get some rest at the end of the night. Personalizing it with my favourite cozy and cute touches makes it feel like home, and my own special space.

I’ve been having so much fun decorating my bedroom over the past few months since receiving my Bloom by Sleep Country mattress, but I’ve noticed that cute decor doesn’t come cheap. A throw pillow can range anywhere from $30-$80 depending on the store. One of my favourite bedroom hacks is DIY-ing decor using inexpensive materials you can find at your local craft store. This also allows you to personalize and customize your items (like the pillow I made) to match your exact preferences, style and aesthetic.

For this DIY I used transfer paper to iron on one of my favourite sayings, “the snuggle is real”, and also added a playful pompon trim around the edge to spice things up. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions to make your own!

What you’ll need:

• A cotton or cotton-polyester blend pillowcase (and pillow to stuff it with)
• Transfer sheets that work with your chosen material
• Decorative trim
• Quick dry tacky glue (or another adhesion method, such as hot glue or a needle and thread)

You’ll also need access to a computer and inkjet printer, as well as an iron to apply the transfer.

 Step 1:

Look for inspiration for your design online! Pinterest is a great place to start, and there are a number of websites that offer free downloadable fonts and images. My favourite website to find fonts is dafont.com, and my favourite site for downloadable vectors is freepik.com.

Once you have a design in mind, you can either use something you find straight from the internet, or create your own using programs like Microsoft Word, or design software like Adobe Creative Suite. I chose to use a quote and simple eyelash illustration I created using my design software, but you could also print out your Instagram photos or pics of your friends and family as a fun, personal alternative.

Step 2:

Follow the instructions on your transfer paper to print out your design onto the sheets. You’ll be required to flip the image in your design program prior to printing, so it’s a good idea to do a test print on regular paper before using the transfer sheets.

TIP: Since you’ll be required to print on a specific side of the transfer sheet (the unmarked side), it’ll be important to determine which way your paper feeds into your printer so that you can load your transfer paper correctly. I marked my test sheet with an X on one side before it printed so that I could determine how the paper fed into the printer. After printing, my transfer sheets required 30 minutes to fully dry before they could be applied.

Step 3:

While you’re waiting for the transfers to dry, you can apply the decorative trim to your pillow. Iron out any wrinkles in the pillowcase and work on a smooth, hard surface. I used quick dry tacky glue to apply my trim, as I’m not planning to wash the case (it’s more a decorative prop), but use the adhesion method that works best for you.

 Step 4:

Once dry, cut out your transfers and arrange them on your pillowcase to get an idea of where you’d like them to be applied.

Follow the instructions given on the package (mine instructed me to iron the item on a pillowcase on top of a smooth, hard surface, and to remove any water from the iron) and apply the transfers. Make sure to distribute the heat evenly, especially towards the edges and to make sure each section of the design receives the necessary amount of time under the heat to adhere.

Note: This was my first time using any sort of transfer paper, and I didn’t realize that even the part of the paper without ink will somewhat transfer onto the fabric (it leaves a subtle, clear coating). Knowing this, I would have cut the shapes of the words and eyelashes out more accurately to remove some of the extra space.

Step 5:

Once all elements of your pillowcase are dry, slip in your pillow and enjoy! I really loved the finished product and think it adds an adorable touch to my bedroom décor.

Let me know in the comments below if you’re planning to try out this DIY for yourself! I’d love to see what you create 🙂