Bed Headboard Tutorial

     My niece turned 2 recently and I had no idea what to get her for her birthday.  She has so many toys, being the 4th kid and quite a few clothes already.  She just moved in to a twin bed but didn't have a headboard yet.  So, I decided to make her one!  I've made other headboards before but this one was going to be different.  I wanted it to be padded so she wouldn't bump her head while sleeping- or more likely while jumping on the bed!

     Since it was going to be a different style, I needed to get something other than pallet boards.  I ran to Menards and picked up a 4x4 sheet for plywood.  I got the best board available because I wanted to make sure it was thick enough and wouldn't fall apart when I cut it.

     The hard part was trying to figure out where to make the curve.  I knew that I wanted it curved on top but we needed it to be even.  Ryan used a sting with a nail and pencil.  It took some time to see how long we needed the string to be and where to place it on the nail.  Finally after several attempts, we could make an arc that hit the sides of the board at the same measurement.

     Then came the fun part!  I got to use our jig saw.  I've never used one before.  I think I'm pretty good at tools and have my own sander and have used our saw.  But this one is different.  I needed to follow the arc with the jig saw while it was wiggling all around.  Super tough but pretty cool!

     Next came the boring part and the part that ALWAYS makes my shoulder hurt.  I needed to staple in the fluff and fabric.  I ended up using 5 layers to make sure it was super padded.  The scary part was when I lined up the fabric, I literally had about 4 centimeters extra!  I couldn't believe (ok I could) that I measured it that close.

Chloe was a helper throughout the whole project!

     Once I got the fabric stretched and attached, the kids decided to decorate the back of the headboard!  They drew bows, wrote their names, colored little Minnie Mouses!  It was super cute.

     My niece's bedding is a bright pink with Minnie Mouse.  The headboard fabric matched the sheet fabric perfectly!  Since my niece is only 2, she doesn't have a box spring- so it's lower to the ground. I made the headboard a little high, so when they add the box spring, it will be just right.