Friday, August 20, 2010

A DIY Headboard

I know I usually only post about cards, but I just had to post this to show how easy it was. I am not much of a do-it-yourselfer, because time is never on my side. However, it was my daughter's 9th birthday the other day, and she really wanted a new bed with her room redone. We couldn't afford the 'new bed' she wanted, so I explained the alternative. She thought it sounded nice. Don't read on if you don't want, and be aware that this post is long with 11 pictures.

Supplies: Plywood
computer paper
drill
saw
quilt batting
stretching fabric
light weight cardboard
hole punch
thread buttons
staple gun

We started off with a 45" x 39" piece of 1 1/2" plywood that we had them cut at the local DIY store.
I taped some computer paper together to get the width of the plywood, and then folded it in half and cut my design.
I then traced the design with a Sharpie, so that my DH could cut it out.
Isn't he cute with a drill. . .
. . .and a saw, hehe?!
After the design was cut, I drew diagonal lines and where they crossed I drew my circles. This is where my husband would drill holes for the buttons.
Our dog, Lolli, wanted to be involved too ;)
At this point I had already stapled the batting down and was now stapling the fabric.
To make the buttons, I punched 1 1/4" circles out of light weight cardboard 5 times. The next step was to cover them in batting and fabric and sew that together. I cut off the excess, and then sewed them through the pre-drilled holes with some DMC floss. I ended up knotting them off on the back with button to make sure the floss didn't go right back through the fabric on the front.
After that I stapled the edges again to give it a more finished look on the back.
Here is her headboard in her newly painted room. Previously, her paint colors were more of an offwhite on the top and Peptobismol pink on the bottom. It was perfect for a little girl, but my little girl is 9 and wanted a more mature feeling room. So for only $60 she got a custom headboard. That was a far cry different than the $250 bed she had originally wanted, and she ended up being much happier with this.
Thanks for reading on and checking out my DIY project. Hopefully, I'll have a little time in my 'craft cave' today, so I'll have some more stamped goodies to share with you.

8 comments:

  1. WOW!! This is awesome Cassie! Great Job to both you and Jim and of course Lolli! It looks like HGTV spent the afternoon at your house! I think its great that you posted this DIY project!

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  2. Whoa Cassie you did such a great job. Her bed and room looks great.

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  3. Whoa Cassie what a great job. Her bed and room look awesome. I'm impressed.

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  4. That is awesome Cassie. Love the new style for Matti and the headboard is awesome..

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  5. Oh wow! I love the aesthetic of an upholstered headboard -- thanks for the tutorial!!!

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  6. Now you are super mom and dad! How cool to do this yourself and it means so much more and special. I love the look, you guys did an awesome job! I bet she LOVES it.

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  7. LOVE IT! Fabby idea! We need to make one for our daughter. She would love this.

    :-)

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  8. Such beautiful work. Havn't tried woodwork beore. Love this headboard DIY project.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I always appreciate your sweet words :)