Living Life and Loving It: Thrifty Attempts # 1: DIY Headboard

So since we've gotten married and had our own place to decorate, I've kind of gotten into home decor and I follow a few blogs that like to do the same... under budget! In the past I wouldn't have considered myself a "thrifty" person, but it's becoming a game to see just how cheap I can make/buy something that looks just as nice as something you'd see in a store. Just last night I was bragging about a new lamp project I'm working on that cost me $7 (and the lamp shade came from Pottery Barn!)

Here is the first big DIY project. It ended up costing about $60... and that's with having to buy a staple gun.. a one time purchase.

DIY Headboard:

Our new condo has a 2nd bedroom :), but we didn't have a headboard for our bed. I knew we didn't want to make a huge investment in that room, so I found some blogs about making a headboard DIY! I used these blogs.. they rock! Thrifty Decor Chick and Centsational Girl.

I made this with my mom one day over Fall Break! It took us a good part of the day, but we had a blast and I LOVE the results!

I bought this piece of plywood at Home Depot for $6. I just got the cheapest one they had since it's not necessary for it to be sturdy.

First we measured out where we wanted the buttons to go... I wanted a tufted look. I think we measured them about 10-12 in apart and about 15 in from the edges.

Oh yeah.. bring on the power tools! We then drilled a hole for each button which we'd use to sew the buttons on.

I felt SO cool using a power drill!

My mom rocks! I definitely couldn't have done this without her expertise!

Next, we used spray adhesive to coat the board.

Then we applied the foam (egg crate bedding) to that. I read in one of the blogs that egg crate bedding is much cheaper than the foam they sell at craft stores. It looks funny here, but it looks great in the end.

We stopped taking some pics, but after we put the foam on, we had to cut it to fit the board. Next, we took an old sheet, and used a staple gun to attach it to the plywood. This secures the foam and provides a smooth surface for the final layer of fabric.

Phase one complete!

After this, we took the board upstairs and stapled the fabric to it, just like we did with the sheet. I got the fabric at Hobby Lobby. It's a natural linen-like fabric.