DIY Hollywood Regency Upholstered Headboard

Yay!!!  I have been dying to make this for our master bedroom and I just finished it.  The best part about it was that it was super easy!

Step 1 - I went down to the hardware store and bought a piece of plywood and had them cut it to the size I wanted the headboard to be (most hardware stores do this for free!).  I opted to have the headboard very tall so the dimensions were 64"X40" (we have a queen size mattress).

Step 2 - If you want your headboard to be tufted (like mine is) you will need to drill holes in your plywood.

I LOVE my drill...It's not very powerful but perfect for all of my little projects.  The best part was that it was on clearance for on $17 and it came with a stud finder!  SCORE!  OK, back to the project...Mark on your board where you want your buttons to go and start drilling.  Of course, I had to take ANOTHER trip to the store because the Mr. failed to tell me that all of his drill bits were dull (another story on why I couldn't use his drill) and after trying to drill the same hole for about 20 minutes (really it was probably about 1 or 2 minutes but it seemed like 20) he then shared that information with me...Ugh.

Step 3 - Once you have your wholes drilled, you are ready to glue the foam down.  I decided to use 1" foam and I bought it 50% off almost a month ago (Thank you Joanns!).

I sprayed the whole board with spray adhesive and then laid the foam on top. You will need to trim the foam around the edges.  The best (and easiest) way to do this is to use an electric knife.

Ahhh...Finally found it! Seriously, I spent more time digging around in my kitchen trying to find the electric knife than it took to complete the entire headboard! I have since then decided to store the knife with all of my DIY tools instead of in the kitchen.  Next time I won't need to spend an hour looking for it...Problem solved :)

Step 4 - Once all the foam is trimmed, you will need to lay your fabric out on the floor, lay the batten on top, then lay your foam covered plywood on top (foam side down).  Now you are ready to start stapling.  Start in the middle of one of the sides and put in your first staple.

Continue stapling all across the first side.  Once complete, switch and begin stapling (starting in the middle) of the adjacent side.  Add more staples to your staple gun and continue stapling a bazillion staples along the other sides.  **Important Note** - Make sure you don't pull your fabric too tight or it will pucker, you want it to be taught, not tight.

Step 5 - Now here comes the best part of the project...Tufting! OK, well it's best part because it gives the headboard a really expensive look, but this is by far the most time consuming part. If you choose not to do it, congrats, your now done!  But if you do decide to do it, take a deep breath and realize that you are almost done!

You will need a needle, embroidery thread, your buttons (that you will sew on your headboard) and some random buttons (to hold the knot and keep your "decorative" buttons tight since now you want so show the puckering).

Luckily, I had this giant box of buttons on hand because the Diva needed A LOT of buttons for a 100 day of school project a few years ago :)  Start by pushing your threaded needle throw the hole that you previously drilled into the board.  Once through to the other side, attach your decorative button, and stick the needle back through to the other side....This is where it got really time consuming...No matter how big you drill the hole, it seems impossible to find with going back through the other direction.  Thread your "random" button, and pull it REALLY tight before knotting it.  NOTE ** When trying to tighten your thread/button, have your 6 year old princess push the button "in" to take the pressure off of the thread or it will snap. (Yes, this happened at least twice!)

If done correctly (pulling really tight to get the puckered look), the back will look like the above, and the other side will look like the below.

Isn't the fabric beautiful!!! (Also, 50% off at Joanns!)

Add some wall hanging brackets too the back and All Done!!!  It's perfect!  The exact look I wanted for my Hollywood Regency themed bedroom!!!

Ready for the sneak peak.....

Psst....Don't tell the Mr., but now I'm starting to re-think my bedding too....SHHH!

Jennifer :)

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I know, I know...I have been kinda "off the map" lately...Well, let's see...It all started with my princess receiving the "Flu" as present from one of her classmates (seriously, it lasted almost a whole week!), then softball started (I am lucky enough to be the princess' T-Ball coach!!), then the horrible disaster in Japan (favorite channels have changed from HGTV to CNN), and lastly the little princesses school project (yep, you guessed it! We have to make a leprechaun trap)...And, well there you have it...LIFE, it happened.

Anywho, even with all this, I still have a few projects in the works and hoping to post the finished products within the next week...OK, so I guess now I HAVE to post them since I just gave them a time line!

1st - Finishing the living room.  Some of my family recently were in Hawaii (of course during the tsunami), and I am waiting for them to get back to finish off the final touches, then the BIG reveal!!

2nd - The Front Porch.  Almost done...I am making some pillows for the bench that is on the porch and then maybe a moss monogram (like the one pictured below) to go above the bench.

(image from Pottery Barn)

3rd - The Patio.  I almost have it completed, but I need to clear out an old, ugly filing cabinet (of course, I have been saying this for MONTHS!) and then I can add just a few finishing touches and it too will be done.

4th  - Our Bedroom.  All I really need is to actually make my new headboard (which I almost have all the supplies for) and it will basically be done :)


5th - Lunch Bags for the Diva and Princess.  I have been asking both girls to bring home their Capri Sun packs so I can use them to make their new lunch bags.  This is a very slow process since it seems that only 1 of 2 come home each day.  Of course, I guess I could just buy a box of Capri Suns for $3 and dump all the juice out, but really...where is the fun in that???


So basically I have started a LOT of room makeovers/crafts in the house and then while the princess was sick, I got sidetrack in blogland and started a gazillion (yes, gazillion) other projects, and still haven't officially completed a single one.

Well, it time to hang up my "Super Procrastinator" cape and get to work!!  Awesome stuff to come...I promise!!

Jennifer :)

Living Room Update

So I've been working on my living room for quite some while now.  My mom laughs because she asked if I'm going to be redecorating it on a weekly basis (hee hee, maybe!).  Anywho, have been having a tough time with it.  So, here is a sneak peak at what's been brewing.
It started off with this awesome Craigslist find (Please ignore the bizarre wicker lamp hanging in the middle...it was replace with something much better)

I know what your thinking...What in the world are you gonna do with that!?!  Well, at least that is what the Mr. was thinking.  It was only $60 and the seller offered to deliver it...Score, right!!!

So I painted it (still using the left over paint from the dining room), gave it some new hardware and lined the whole inside with this awesome shelf paper...Perfect!  It's a desk/craft station all in one!!!  So awesome and perfect since I've let the Mr. keep his man cave even though I would love to have an office/craft room (OK, maybe more a craft room than office) but this new cabinet is perfect!

After this I promised the Mr. that this was the last furniture project and that I wouldn't be turning our living/dining room into a garage anymore.  BUT, then I found this set on craigslist!

A whole set, 2 side tables and a coffee table!  The best part is they all have storage...Extra blankets to cuddle with, pillows, and board games all easily accessible right in the living room!  The problem is that they would need to be painted....Oops!  There goes that promise I previously made ;)

Ahh, beautiful!

And did I tell you that that the coffee table is a lift top???  What a bargain!!!  Now the Mr. and I can have date night in front of the TV!  Every man's dream, right?? (Kidding...he is much better than that)

On this set I did decide to keep all the original hardware which is where the spray paint came in handy...Love spray paint!!

OK, so that's the major furniture pieces.  Next, I have to figure out how to blend my surfboard that hangs on the wall in the living room (again, more needs for a garage!) with the rest of the living room.  So...drum roll please....Here is my sneak peak

Cute, right!!!  I can't wait to show you the rest, but I have a few finishing touches to add...Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Jennifer :)



Houseplant Bowls

I needed to add some greenery to my living room so out came the pottery barn catalog to get some ideas...I absolutely LOVE the way these little plants look!  Not too tall and not too big...The perfect size!

Using the above picture as my inspiration I came up with these (Don't worry, the plant sticks are now removed...Oops!)



How did I make them....Well, that was the easiest part.  In fact, I spent more time googling different ideas then I actually spent making them. 

First I started out with a couple of small house ferns that I picked up at Home Depot for about $2 a piece

Then I went over to Michaels and found these cute little bowls for only $2.99

While I like the size of the bowl with the plant, I didn't like the way the plastic container looked.  My options were to buy potting soil and re-plant the plants in the bowls, or figure out a way to hide them...Since I didn't want to deal with the dirt mess, I decided to cover them up.  I dug through my craft box and found a bag of shells that my girls and I collected at the beach a few years ago and also a little baggy of river rocks.  That settled it!  I picked up one of the bowls, put the plant in the pot inside, and started shoving shells and rocks all along the sides of the pot until it was completely covered.  So easy and sooo cheap!  Total cost was under $6 each!  How awesome is that !!!!

Jennifer :)