If you’re looking for a personal, heartfelt gift for your spouse, this one is hard to beat — and you can make it right from your home printer. A DIY photo pillow turns your wedding photos, a favorite couple’s picture, or a treasured family shot into a cozy keepsake they’ll see every day. It’s so much easier than it looks, and it makes a wonderful anniversary, Valentine’s, or just-because gift.
This is honestly one of my favorite projects I’ve ever tried. The pillows turned out so cute and it really wasn’t tricky — I had so much fun that I made an extra one as a gift for my mom. Ready to make your own? Here’s how.
Why a Photo Pillow Makes Such a Sweet Gift
A store-bought gift is lovely, but a pillow made from your own photos says something a candle never could. Print a shot from your wedding day, add the word LOVE or your anniversary date, and you’ve created a one-of-a-kind romantic gift for a fraction of what a custom keepsake would cost. It’s equally perfect for a spouse, a parent, or a cozy corner of your own home.
What You’ll Need
- Muslin fabric
- Freezer paper (find it at the grocery store or online)
- An inkjet printer
- An iron
- Fabric for the pillow backing
- A pillow form or stuffing
How to Make a DIY Photo Pillow
1. Cut your materials. Cut both your muslin fabric and your freezer paper to an exact 8.5 x 11 inches — the same size as a standard sheet of printer paper.
2. Iron them together. Place the muslin and freezer paper on a hard surface (a cutting board works well) with the shiny side of the freezer paper facing the fabric. Press with a hot iron, paying special attention to the edges — those need to stick so the sheet feeds smoothly through your printer.
3. Design your photo. Set up your picture on a full 8.5 x 11 page. A free tool like Canva (or even a simple document) makes this easy — drop in your photo, stretch it to fill the page, and add a word like LOVE or your names in a text box. For a multi-photo look, build a quick collage first.
4. Load the fabric sheet. Feed the fabric-and-paper sheet into your printer so the photo prints onto the fabric, not the freezer paper. (Do a test print on plain paper first to check the orientation.)
5. Print your best quality. Change your print settings to “photo paper” and the highest quality or maximum dpi so your printer puts out its best work, then hit print.
Here are my two photo projects, fresh out of the printer — so cool, right?
6. Peel and sew. Peel away the freezer paper, and you’ve got the front panel for your pillow. Pair it with your backing fabric and sew them together, then add a pillow form or stuffing. New to sewing pillows? This step-by-step guide walks you through it — or recruit a crafty friend to help.
Gift Ideas & Inspiration
That’s really all there is to it — and the possibilities are endless. Think wedding portraits for an anniversary, a family photo for a grandparent, or a sweet snapshot for your kids’ rooms. These make such thoughtful, personal gifts that you’ll want to make more than one.
More Romantic DIY Gift Ideas
Love making personalized gifts from your photos? Try these next:
- DIY Heart-Shaped Picture Poster
- 25+ Anniversary Date Ideas, Gifts & Printables
- 80+ Love Notes & Free Printables for Your Spouse
Give it a try — and we’d love to see how your photo pillow turns out!
DIY Photo Pillow FAQs
Just muslin fabric, freezer paper, an inkjet printer, an iron, and backing fabric. You print your photo straight onto the fabric and sew it into a pillow.
Yes! By ironing muslin to freezer paper to stiffen it, you can run the sheet through an inkjet printer just like paper and print your photo right onto the fabric.
Absolutely. A pillow made from your wedding photos or a favorite memory is a personal, heartfelt gift for an anniversary, Valentine’s Day, or just because.
Clear, high-resolution photos work best, such as wedding pictures, a favorite couple’s photo, or a family shot. You can add text like your names or the word LOVE for a personal touch.
Inkjet prints on fabric can fade with washing, so it’s best to spot-clean your photo pillow or make a removable cover. Setting the ink and washing gently helps it last longer.
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We love your comments
Do you just have to use muslin fabric and how long do you have to iron the fabric and freezer paper
Those are great questions!The reason that I chose to use muslin fabric was simply because it is fairly inexpensive, light in color and a very thin material. If you do try another material you will definitely want to have something very thin. I haven’t tried other materials, but if you do – let us know how it works for you!
For ironing the the fabric to the freezer paper, I just ironed until the freezer paper adhered to the fabric. The purpose of this is to make the fabric stiff enough to go through a printer.
When making the photo pillows do you have to use Muslin? With a house full of kids Muslin is no picnic to keep clean. I’ve even tried using scotchguard. But even if they don’t play with it, the’ll throw it out of the way because their not supposed to touch it and it still becomes out of shape or dirty.. Any suggestions?
That is a great questions! The reason that I chose to use muslin fabric was simply because it is fairly inexpensive, light in color and a very thin material. If you do try another material you will definitely want to have something thin. Let us know how it works for you!
Hi i would love to do personlised pillowcases one of my husband who died in feb of this year. Can you still do them without having a printer or a laser printer can you let me no. Thankyou teresa x
That sounds like a wonderful idea. I am sorry for your loss. If you don’t want to make a DIY photo pillow – you can personalize and purchase one from Shutterfly. Check out this link to see all of the options: https://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/pillows
Just wanted to share that the picmonkey.com site is free for 7 day trial then there’s a monthly fee.
Thank you for sharing that. Picmonkey has updated their site since this post was created. If that site doesn’t work for you there are lots of other free collage makers you can utilize. There is a simple one I use on my phone called Frametastic that would work great!
Firstly awesome job. I was curious about your printer. How wide was your paper?
That is a great question! The printer I used was a very basic one and the paper was just the typical 8.5 x 11. I hope that helps!
I have read your blog, it sounds so simple can’t t wait to get started on my pillows. Thank you for sharing you were very helpful, best of luck. God bless
You are welcome! I loved the way my pillows turned out – I hope you enjoy yours!
Can you use wax paper? I cannot find freezer paper at my local store…
What is the purpose of the freezer paper? Is it just to make the fabric stiffer to be able to feed it through the printer? Just curious!! Awesome idea though; I think I’m going to make one!
The purpose of the freezer paper is to make the fabric stiff enough to pass through the printer! You’ve got it!
I love this idea! I must create on of the for my clients. Did you a laserjet or inkjet printer?
I used a low-end ink jet printer – nothing fancy!
This is the cutest idea ever! I need to try this out. Now to figure out which picture to use! xox
Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?! These are soooo cute! I even think my daughter’s friends would flip over this as a birthday gift with a photo of them dressing up or being silly. Sarina, you seriously have the cutest decor ideas. Maybe you should come help me decorate the bedrooms in my house because I’m so indecisive!
I love this I am doing this with. My friends thank you for this idea Sarina
I am excited to see what you make!
Sarina,
These are gorgeous!! This is one DIY gift that I am totally going to do!! Thanks for the fantastic idea:)
Just wondering how these hold up to washing. Does the ink bleed into other things in the wash or wash away at all? Looks so fun to make but I want to make sure if I try it that they don’t look bad after going through the wash.
If you want to wash your pillows there are just a few extra steps. You will need to wash your fabric in a solution first. I found this site with more details: https://quiltbug.com/Articles/bubble-jet-set.htm Hope that helps!
I LOVE this!! This would make such a great gift, Im going to pin this for around christmas time!
I am SOOOO in love with this post! I seriously want to try this!!! XO