The Plan is Expanding

A couple of weeks ago I hatched this plan to create an art area for my daughter in the sunroom.  It was just the start of a plan that I knew would come together with a little shopping.  And through your suggestions that plan turned into planning a trip to IKEA.

IKEA is about 2 hours away from me...both a blessing and a curse.  But my step-mom is in town (Hi Sabrina) and she is up for the drive so IKEA here we come! 

Now, on my birthday (which was the 16th)  I treated myself by having our carpets cleaned.  Ahhh, so wonderful!  In order to clean the carpets I had to move out all the toys.  I put them in the sunroom so Bean could have access to them, heaven forbid she go an afternoon without toys.  Right after moving everything I glanced back into the family room and a started grinning ear to ear.  WOW, look at how big and clean the room looks without all those toys! 

I mean, look at it...

*Disclaimer Needed Here - this is the room we spend the most time in and I have not touched it at all.  A little bit of accessorizing but no paint, nothing on the walls, nada.  I was holding off until I had the money to really do it all, but you know what...I am thinking it may be time to jump in, even if I start small. 

OK back to reading now...

Spacious, open, clean, clutter free!  So, you all know where this is leading right, I think maybe the toys should stay in the sunroom!  I left them in there today and I am going to test it out for a few more days to make sure I can keep track of Bean in the other room just as well as I could in the family room.  But if it works, then my simple art area now needs to be an art and toy area.  Which means More Storage Needed!  Wow, this trip to IKEA is getting more and more exciting.  (Sometimes I say things and I feel instantly dorky right after.  That was one of those moments.)

So the shopping list is growing however the budget is not which means I am going to have to get creative on how I make this work.  Stayed tuned to see what happens.  I will also stay tuned as I am curious myself.  And watch out IKEA because this Saturday two crazy women will be on the loose! 

How to make an upholstered headboard...

...it is so easy!  You have to do this! 

My mom has bought a Grandma Condo in Madison.  No, it isn't covered in flower fabric, with plastic on the couches and a strange smell of moth balls.  It is a Grandma Condo because she bought it to spend more time with the grand-kids.  And because I am involved the other option is not an option :)  If you want to see pics of the layout  and get more info on the new place check it out here.

So, among other things, I talked her into letting me make a headboard for her.  We selected the fabric last time she was here and it is beautiful...

I talked my sister-in-law into helping me tackle this project.  We started at 8 o'clock at night.  And despite our exhaustion (noted in my fabulous hair in the picture) from playing mom all day we managed to complete the entire headboard, start to finish, in two hours.  Not bad! 

(Sorry all of these pics were taken at night so the lighting isn't the best) 

This project really was simple.  I highly recommend it.  To get started here are the materials you will need - 

Fabric - look for a coupon or sale

Plywood - Home Depot will cut it to size for you

Foam - this is optional but we used it since my mom likes to sit up and read in bed at night

Batting - this is not optional :)

Spray on adhesive or hot glue gun - only needed if you chose to do the foam layer

Staple Gun and Staples - the better the staple gun the easier it is 

So first step if you are using the foam is to cut the foam so it will cover one side of the plywood.  Use the spray adhesive or hot gun and stick it on to the plywood.  We didn't even have a single piece of foam big enough so we used scraps to fill in the holes.  

Next iron the fabric.  I would have skipped over this but my wonderful sister-in-law is much more detailed then I am and she made this happen...thank goodness.  It would have looked sad without it so don't miss this step!

From here you just wrap everything like a present and staple away.  Lay the batting down smoothly on the floor.  Put the plywood on top of it and wrap and staple, pulling as you staple but not to much, you want it to be soft and cozy.  Then do the same with the fabric.  Lay it down smoothly and put the plywood now wrapped in batting on top of it.  Wrap and staple, wrap and staple.   

So just in case you missed the first sentence in this post It Is So Easy! 

Mounting it on the wall can be done is a number of ways, depending on how heavy the plywood you started with is.  (We have not done this step yet, which you may notice in the pics.) If it isn't to heavy you can hang it like a picture.  Put framing brackets on the back of the headboard and hang it on the wall.  You can also find brackets that attach to the headboard and the wall.  Then you slide the headboard right into the bracket on the wall and there you go.  These work well for a little more weight. 

So for just over $100 and 2 hours of work my mom has a beautiful custom made headboard.  And not to mention a late night, sad looking picture.

If you are trying this out yourself and want more details or have any questions just let me know!