My Upholstered Headboard: From Plywood Scraps to Delightful Decor

Easter is just around the corner. Everyone is probably busy cleaning their homes and prepping their meals. I am sure my husband wishes that I would be doing the same. Instead, I am completely transforming our bedroom. He, of course, cannot figure out what was wrong with it the way it was. I, on the other hand, have grown tired of a mis-matched college dorm room style master bedroom. I am not going to reveal before and afters yet, as I still have a few more pieces of the puzzle to finish but I am going to share with you my new 36 dollar headboard.

We are by no means experienced builders. I am huge on reading how-tos and just giving it a whirl. So believe me when I say, anyone can do this in an afternoon!

I highly suggest using one sheet of plywood, but for the sake of being thrifty, I used 2 random pieces (same thickness) that we had left over from different projects. First, I drew half the shape on the one piece, have fun and design a shape that fits your decor. **If you are using one piece of plywood I would create a half template out of poster board and use this to trace a perfectly symmetrical headboard onto your plywood.** I then cut the half out with a jig saw.

Yeah, not only did I steal my husbands tools but I stole his jacket too!

My husband was in charge of photos while I cut out and well, March Madness was on so this is all you are getting. Haha. 

I then took my half and laid it on top of the other piece of plywood, traced and cut out. We then used some leftover 1x8 to secure the two halves together. Again, if you are using one solid piece of plywood this step will not be necessary. 

Then it was time to upholster. Rather than paying an arm and a leg for upholstery foam, I bought a queen sized foam mattress pad from Ross for $17.99 (you can find them at Target and Wal-Mart too).

Using a staple gun, secure the foam all the way around the board (place the foam egg crate side against the board). I began with the bottom then pulled taut as I worked on the top to keep everything smooth on the front. 

Then you will want to top that with a layer of batting. You can find batting at any fabric store. Luckily, since I quilt, I had some that I found too thin for my quilts that was perfect to use up on this project! Once again, staple all the way around pulling tightly as you go to keep the front completely free of wrinkles. 

Finally top with fabric and attach some legs, we just used some extra 2x4 that we had. This way we could secure the legs to the bed frame. I found my upholstery fabric at fabric.com for $5.98 a yard!

And that is it, 36 dollars later I found myself with a bed fit for a queen . . . at least it will be once I sew some linens to match the room (hence the lack of a picture of the bed). But even without matching linens, it already looks so much better!

Even the dog is enjoying the bed more now!

Happy decorating and Happy Easter!

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Small Bathroom Storage Solution

Last week as I was brushing my teeth at midnight, I looked up for a second at the bathroom wall cabinet and realized that it was beginning to break apart. The back was literally separating from the rest of the cabinet! Yikes!

As my husband unhappily removed the cabinet (at 12:30 at night), I was hiding my excitement. I hated how big and bulky the cabinet was. I already had ideas whirling through my head with what to do with the open space.

I patched the holes the next day and while I was working I decided that shelving would be the way to go, it would be thrifty and still keep the space looking open. I found the perfect shelves and brackets at Menards. I topped them off with some thrift store Mason jars and thrift store baskets. I never buy baskets anywhere else . . . there is a HUGE supply of baskets every time I go to the thrift store! 

Standing over the toilet to work also go me thinking about all the unused space that exists around the toilet and above it. Hmmmmm. And suddenly we were off to Menards for some wood! We began by building a skinny shelving unit for one side of the toilet out of 1x8s.

We then attached a 1x8 across the top of the unit and attached another 1x8 as a leg for the other side of the toilet. However, when we went to place this around the toilet there wasn't enough clearance for the handle. My husband appointed me to make a cut to the side of the shelving unit since I am queen of the jigsaw! It is my favorite power tool! Once the cut was made everything fit like a glove.

I then attached some trim and painted the whole thing black to match the vanity cabinet. I followed up with some varnish and it was all set. Adorable dollar store bins were the perfect size for the shelves too!

The final touch was to sew a skinny runner for the shelf above the toilet. 

Now our bathroom is perfect! We managed to add more storage space while also making the bathroom feel more open. And it all cost less then the price of a new wall cabinet. That is what I call a successful project! 

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DIY Maxi Skirt

I've had a bad case of spring fever lately. I am tired of jeans and sweaters and looking forward to the summer months of flowing skirts and bright colored tops. As a newer mom, I have noticed that getting dressed now consists of changing out of pajama pants into yoga pants. I am feeling like a change is needed. So when I saw some maxi skirts online, I figured it would be the perfect thing for a young mom to wear. They are still super comfy and you don't run the risk of your skirt getting hiked too high up as you lift your toddler! 

I had the perfect jersey knit fabric, silvery gray! So I decided to attempt making my own. First I measure my waist and the widest part of my bottom half, around the hip area. I used these measurement to be sure that my fabric would be wide enough. I folded the fabric over itself and cut accordingly. I tapered out as I went. 

Be sure you have right sides together and sew along your cut, creating one long seam. 

Now this is where I worked a little backwards then some other tutorials I had seen. I actually hemmed the bottom next. I really wanted to be sure my skirt was the right length so I hemmed first and then decided how much needed to be taking off at the waist. I did a larger hem since knits tend to ruffle a bit if the hem is very small. 

Note: I tapered the back down a bit, I like a little length in the back when I wear a long skirt with heels!

Next I put the skirt on and pinned where I wanted the waist line to fall. I then cut the excess fabric off. While trying the skirt on I noticed that it was a tad too sheer so I used the excess fabric to create a little mini-slip that I would be sewing into the dress. Since jersey knit doesn't fray, I left this mini-slip without a hem so that there would be no bulk showing through the maxi skirt. 

I then took a piece of elastic and cut to the size of my waist. I folded the elastic in half and sewed it shut. 

I took the seam allowance and pressed the seam open, sewing the two tails down on each side of the main seam . . . this allows the elastic to lay flatter at the seam. 

I then stuck the mini-slip into the maxi skirt, matching the two waist lines up. I then folded the fabric over a quarter inch and pinned it to my elastic. 

Be sure to stretch the elastic bit as you sew, it helps the fabric fall correctly and keeps your seams from ripping when the elastic is stretched for wearing!

And voila, all done!

Only an hour to make, great for beginner sewers and it will work for all seasons! Pair with cute boots for fall and winter, with flats for spring and with sandals in the summer. I just love a versatile skirt. 

Happy Sewing!

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5 Dollar Wreath in 5 Minutes

Now that Valentine's Day is over it is time to put the hearts away and start putting up the shamrocks. This wreath is super easy, cheap and looks great on the front door! 

Everything used to make this wreath is available at the dollar store. I used 4 packs of their foam shamrocks and one of their wreath forms. 

Using hot glue begin attaching your shamrocks to the wreath form. 

I decided to alternate colors during layering. 

I didn't like how thin the wreath was so I added another layer of alternating shamrocks.

Then I created a layer of alternating glittery shamrocks. Just add some cute string for hanging and and hang it on your door!

Just goes to show, you don't have to spend a lot to have great decorations!

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From Old to Bold: An Upholstered Chair's Makeover

My grandmother handed down a really comfortable arm chair to us that was just the perfect size for my small living room. I had been on the hunt for an arm chair that would fit next to our fireplace but I just couldn't find anything that was both small, comfortable, and cheap (hey, we're on a budget) . . . until I saw this chair sitting in grandma's garage waiting to find a new home!

The upholstery on it is great quality but, there was a hole wearing into an arm rest and some spit up from one of my many cousins that had left a stain that even the best housekeeper was unable to completely get out. Plus, the cream really isn't my first choice for upholstery picks in the living room. I figured now was the perfect time to try to test out re-upholstering. I looked at a lot of tutorials and finally decided to dive in. 

My inspiration was the dachshund pillow in the picture. My aunt bought it for me for Christmas from Persnickety Pelican. I was so happy to find a perfectly matching upholstery fabric from fabric.com. With a coupon they sent me as I was able to get 6.5 yards of it for $36! I will show you how I took apart the chair and put it back together.

Luckily, this chair's cushion had a zipper. So the first thing I did was remove the foam stuffing from the cushion. The foam in this chair is in great condition! My grandmother is a fabulous housekeeper, and thank goodness because foam is pricey! When choosing a chair to reupholster do your best to be sure that there is no serious staining that could have ruined the foam. 

For the chair cushion, I performed the tedious task of ripping all of the seams out. This allowed me to re-use the cording and the zipper.

I re-sewed the cording into a strip of the new fabric. I then used the pieces from the old cushion to create a pattern for the new cushion. I traced and cut out all of the pieces for the new cushion and sewed it all together.  

I then re-stuffed the foam piece into the new cushion and zipped it up. Not too bad for my first time making a cushion but the right side of the cushion has a slight angle in it that is driving me crazy . . . something I will have to fix in the near future.

My next step was to start tearing the chair apart. While doing this I kept notes on what came off in what order, that way I could put the chair back together in the reverse order. The dust ruffle seemed like the most logical place to start. In fact, once it was off I suddenly really liked the chair. Amazing how the dust ruffle aged the chair so much. Personally I think it looks cleaner and more modern without it.

Then I flipped the chair over and began the horrible process of pulling what felt like a million staples out of the chair. 

At this point the staples were no big deal. I was so excited about this makeover that adrenaline kept me from noticing how tedious of a task I was performing.

Once the bottom staples were all removed I was able to start working up the sides of the chair. At this point I began to realize that this sucked. 

Eventually I reached the upholstery tacks. At this point, I was feeling pain in my back and my hands were red, swollen and I could tell exactly where the blisters were forming. If you decide to refinish a completely upholstered chair this may be the point where you seriously debate quitting. You may even find yourself dragging the chair halfway to the curb, all the while cursing the furniture maker who was clearly having way too much fun with a staple gun.

This is the point where you need to pull out the fabric you chose and picture yourself sitting in your awesome new chair. It is also the point where I finally called in my husband to be the reliever for a bit while I sat and cried about my sore hands. We called it a night once the tacks were out. The next day we finished pulling all the staples and the last bits of old fabric off the chair and I began sewing the front cushion. Again, I seam ripped the old cushion and used the pieces as a pattern. 

I first upholstered the very back of the front of the chair. Notice that fabric from the top and front of the chair always pulls through in between the wood on the chair, this is what makes the fabric appear seamless.Now, a staple gun doesn't work so great on the hard wood of furniture so I had to hammer in some of the staples and I used tack nails to reinforce the fabric every so often. I then placed the back cushion onto the front of the chair and got ready to tuft it! Once again, I called my husband in to help. We were using the existing holes in the back of the chair as a guide. I had also saved the old cushion front and laid it on top of the new cushion to guide the tufting buttons through. The buttons were so easy to recover . . . I cheated and used hot glue!  

Tufting was the easiest part of this chair. Do not be intimidated by a tufted chair. As long as you create a guide for where you want the buttons to go then you will be set. As you pull each button tight you will find that the fabric adjusts itself accordingly. 

Not bad for my first time tufting, right? Next were the arms. Again, I ripped seams and used the old arms as a pattern. A lot of sewing, stapling and re-adjusting and I finally had one just right. Of course, it was also 11 p.m. at this point so it was time to take a break for the night. 

Unfortunately, my project took longer than expected and I was left to finish on a Monday, which meant no extra hands to help me out. Which also meant that I did not take any pictures since I was so caught up working. But the next day I finished the other arm and the front of the chair. Then I was able to staple the lining back up and I upholstered the back of the chair. Nothing fancy, just easy stapling and pulling tight. 

Finally, after 3 straight days of work the chair was finished before bed on Monday night. Would I do this again? Heck no. Was it worth it? Heck yeah. But my next upholstery projects will definitely be chairs that are not completely upholstered. Any fully upholstered chairs from now on will be gifted a slip cover in this house!

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