OSU Football Buckeyes

DIY Ohio State Buckeyes Pillow: A Unique No-Sew Gift Idea for Sports Fans

Today I am sharing how to create a budget-friendly, no-sew Ohio State Buckeyes pillow using a vintage 1890 team photo!

If you’re new here, welcome to my little corner of the internet. My life over the past few years has been a whirlwind, but I’m not here for a pity party. I’m here to share ideas, embrace this wild merry-go-round called life, and maybe inspire you to get creative along the way.

Coming up with ideas? For me, that’s the easy part. I look at everyday objects and instantly see potential. The tricky part? Finding the time and energy to bring those ideas to life.

I have found over the years that life rarely goes as planned. There are always zigs and zags, crouching, jumping, and maybe a roll or two, a bit like playing dodgeball if you want my personal opinion. Never being one to play the sport well, I am not a big fan of thinking it is like life either, but here we are. 

How Vintage Style Gal Was Born

When I started Vintage Style Gal, we were all navigating life through the haze of a pandemic. I was working my regular 9-to-5, but I found myself needing more. Do you ever feel that way—like you need something to occupy your mind, spark joy, or keep your hands busy?

That’s where this blog came in. It became my more.

Initially, I shared decorating ideas and room makeovers, but the physical toll of constantly changing up rooms became too much. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on blogging or the amazing people—like you—that I’ve connected with through this space.

So, I pivoted. I began sharing recipes and upcycling projects, and that’s when I found my true passion: transforming old, discarded items into something new and beautiful. Breathing fresh life into forgotten pieces fills my heart with so much joy, and it’s how I’ve found my “yellow brick road” in blogging.

 

Married to a Crafter: A Blessing or a Curse?

I’ll admit, being married to a crafter has its moments. We never want to throw anything away. Just ask my husband! He’s always trying to declutter while I’m clinging to scraps of fabric and random knickknacks, insisting, “I can do something with that!”

He used to roll his eyes, but now he plays along. Lately, he’s been asking, “Okay, but what can you do with this?”—as if ideas magically appear on command. Creativity takes time! And, well, that’s how our basement ended up bursting at the seams.

One such project idea finally came to fruition this week: a no-sew Ohio State Buckeyes pillow.

A Special DIY Inspired by My Husband

My husband is the ultimate Ohio State (OSU Football Buckeyes) football fan. He’s so dedicated that we planned our wedding around OSU football season! (Yes, you read that right.) We have to watch OSU football on tv every week during football season, and while I may not match his enthusiasm, I do my best to cheer when I understand what’s happening.

So, when I stumbled upon a photo with OSU football players from 1890, I knew it would make the perfect personalized gift for him. A year later, I finally turned that idea into a no-sew pillow!

So, all you OSU football fans, or those of you who just love the game in general, I have an idea for you with Christmas in mind. A budget friendly homemade idea that I think any sports lover would appreciate. You can certainly customize this idea to suite your needs. 

OSU Football Buckeyes DIY Pillow

Materials:

1. 1 piece of scrap white cotton fabric cut to size of 8x11 piece of paper
2. Tape
3. Scissors
4. 1 drop cloth
5. Printer, this is the one I have, but there are a lot of other printers out there if you are not an avid crafter
6. Iron
7. Wax paper
8. Hot glue gun
9. 3 glue sticks
10. 1 placemat
11. Grocery bags or plastic shopping bags

Instructions:

• Use an 8x11 piece of paper as a guide in cutting the scrap white cotton fabric to size (I used the liner of our curtain I previously made into napkins) 
• Place the fabric over top of the printer paper, and begin taping the white cotton fabric to the printer paper, use as little tape on the fabric as possible, but enough to keep the pieces together to prevent getting stuck in your printer
• Place wax paper over your now printed fabric, and iron out wrinkles, but we are also setting the ink into the fabric, be careful while the ink is still wet, you will get it on your fingers
• Remove the paper and tape from the printed fabric image
• Use a placemat as a template to cut out the drop cloth to fit the size of your printed image. I wanted the actual pillow to be larger than my printed image, cut two pieces for a front and back to the pillow
• Place the printed fabric image onto the front of the drop cloth, measure to be sure you have properly centered the image to the middle of the drop cloth pillow
• Begin applying hot glue to the back of the image, be careful in disturbing the image since you have already measured it out. Be sure to apply glue all along the edges of the printed image
• Place the front and back of the pillow facing each other, and then begin hot gluing the edges of the pillow together
• Glue three sides together, leaving the bottom open to stuff your DIY pillow
• Now, here is where you can either use a pillow form, and my husband will tell you she can buy a pillow form, but I like to stretch my imagination to the max, and that is where I decided to stuff this pillow with plastic grocery sacks
• Once you have your "pillow form" in place, you can begin to fold in the edge of the bottom of the pillow fabric to create a clean seam along the bottom so it matches the rest of the pillow
• Place in desired location, and wait for the compliments to come in and folks to wonder aloud where on earth did you get a pillow like that! 

Tip: Invest in heat-resistant finger covers for hot glue—you’ll thank me later.

Okay... I so need to purchase those finger covers for hot glue some of you keep telling me to buy. I have not worked with hot glue in a while, and my fingertips were burnt up by the end of that last seam. 

I am beyond excited with the way this DIY pillow turned out. I mean, who else has an 1890 Ohio State football team pillow laying around? I am doubting not very many, if anyone. 

I will be making a second pillow, they will be a gift to my sweet husband for his birthday.

Life Is What You Make of It

I am going to let you in on a little secret. 

When my immune system decided to take a hiatus, it caused issues for me to get out and travel. My husband has been wanting to go on a vacation for a while now, but we came up with a solution that works for both of us. 

I'm sharing this idea since there may be others out there who are in similar situations, empty nesters, or some who love to keep a frugal budget.

We turned our guest room into a hotel room of sorts. When we need a little get away, we go over and spend the night there. I have been working on it for a while now, and when I am ready to share it, I will.

You may be wondering what this hotel room looks like? Think, The Graduate Hotel. It works for us, plus I have enjoyed getting to work on a masculine bedroom, it has been so much fun! Here is a sneak peek. Once everything is completed, I will share it, but for now, it is our little home away from home, or what my husband likes to call Apartment B.

Not being able to travel, and get out and about has been a bummer, but when you think outside the box, you may be surprised with what you can come up with. Even Bentley enjoys sleeping in a new place from time to time. Plus, our overactive pup can bark, and play as hard as he likes without us worrying about getting kicked out, ha! Oh, it may be an issue if he were to travel with us. 

So, again, life is what you make of it. 

We can either be sad, or work around the obstacles that come our way. I can honestly say life isn't what I thought it would be. Being an advocate for persons with disabilities long ago, I found advocating for myself was so much harder than advocating for others. I am still a work in progress, and I am still working on making my voice heard.

Do you have a football lover in your life? Would you consider making a pillow to reflect their team? Hopefully this little DIY gave you some ideas for the football fan in your life. 

Ciao for now,

Cara