Hello beautiful friends! Today I’m sharing what I did with a headboard that has been hanging around my stash since the end of 2014:
That would be almost four years! I came across a large stack of these at a thrift store and they were all marked…ready for it…$3.49!! Here is the tag from one of them:
A nearby hotel must have been doing some updating and donated several of these. I bought three of them. I redid the first one back in 2015, and the other two have been sitting in our storage unit. When we sold our old house, we also cleared out our storage unit and so these have been taunting me ever since!
Here is how this very hotel-esque headboard looks now:
I turned the first one into a sign and loved it, so I went the same direction with this one. You can see what I did with that one HERE.
I decided to go more beachy with this one.
I started by painting the headboard in two coats of Bit of Sugar by Behr made into DIY chalk paint. (Recipe HERE.) Then I gave it one coat of Peaceful Blue, also by Behr.
I created the larger letters in Word (See how to do that HERE.), then cut them out and spaced them how I wanted them…
Then I traced around each letter.
And painted them in using white acrylic craft paint…
It took three coats and I think my craft paint was old because it didn’t go on very smoothly at all. Luckily sanding it when I was done helped a lot.
I added the crab and the smaller words at the the bottom using “stencils” I cut out of contact paper using my Silhouette:
I gave them three coats of paint also and carefully pulled the contact paper off as soon as I applied the third coat of paint.
When everything was dry, I sanded liberally using 220 grit sandpaper to smooth down the imperfections in the letters as much as possible.
I sealed my new sign with Annie Sloan’s clear soft wax.
Not too bad for costing less than a Big Mac! I still have one more left, and now it will probably sit another couple of years ha ha!
If you liked this, then you’ll love what Jack and I did to this dresser:
See how it turned out HERE.
I’ll be back on Thursday with my furniture fixer upper girls sharing what I did with this TV cabinet:
Se y’all then! 🙂
UPDATE: Check it out how I made this TV cabinet functional again HERE!
XO,
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Addie says
VVVVVVery pretty!!!!! LOVE it!!! Love the blue.
Christy says
Thank you, Addie!! XOXO
Mary Kaiser says
OK so just saying I LOVE IT!! That is adorable. Are you keeping it? If you are I would love to see where you put it in your home. That turned out great and can’t believe that you only paid that small amount for it, what a steal!!
Christy says
Thank you, Mary!! I don’t have a place for it here, but I kind of wish I did! This will be heading to the shop. And yes…who could pass up $3.49?? XOXO
Christina in SW FL says
Super re-purposing of that headboard Christie. Love the colors and I bet it sells super quickly in your shop. My first impression was it would make a great sign. And so it did!
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Christy says
Thank you, Christina! Yes the shape is perfect for a sign! XOXO
Paula says
This turned out great, Christy! Someone in your area is sure to snap this up quickly for their home.
Christy says
Thank you, Paula! I hope so! XOXO
SUSAN CALDWELL says
I love your how your headboard signed turned out. What a great idea. I sometimes use Word for lettering and did not know you could type in larger font sizes. Thanks for that great tip. You might enjoy the free google app for the computer…….iPiccy. I use it a lot for lettering and also layering backgrounds, letters and graphics. Thanks for all you share. Susan
Christy says
Thank you, Susan! Word works great for these larger letters as well. I will have to check out iPiccy…thanks! XO
Cecilia says
Love it! It really is the perfect shape for a sign and who can beat that price?! 🙂
Christy says
Thank you, Cecilia! How could I pass up $3.49 right?? And yep…perfect shape for a sign! XOXO
sharon says
OMG I love it!!!! Where do you come up with these ideas? I’m so jealous my mind doesn’t work like yours.
Christy says
Thank you so much, Sharon! You are so sweet! XOXO
Karen Moore says
That really turned out cute.
Christy says
Thank you, Karen! XOXO
Marcie Lovett says
So cute! I know that’s going to fly out of the shop. Aren’t you glad you finally got to it? ????
Christy says
Thanks, Marcie! I am thrilled to have this out of my storage room…one more to go! XOXO
Margo says
Absolutely adorable! I love it. I just recently discovered you on FB and I love your website/blog. You are so creative. Thank you for the easy detailed instructions on your projects. Have a blessed day. And never stop DIY’ing
Christy says
Thank you so much, Margo! I’m so glad you found me! XOXO
Becky says
So pretty! And what a GREAT color!!!
Christy says
Thank you, Becky!! I had this left over from a dresser Jack and I worked on a while back and forgot all about it! XOXO
Gina Keysor says
I love it! If I lived nearby I would buy it. I remember the similar dresser your son did, it’s been one of my favorite make overs. Can you tell I love all things coastal?! Hope your area made out OK during Florence. Thx for another inspiring make over.
Christy says
Thank you, Gina!! That dresser is one of my favorites too. We were very fortunate with Florence…it turned south just before it hit! XOXO
Cecilia from Georgia says
Love this idea! I want to use it for a hunting and fishing sign so will have to ponder that one. Everything you paint has such a smooth finish and so neat. Do you try to sand away the brush strokes or how do you cover them up? I see more with the homemade chalk paint than with ASCP or Dixie Bell. Do you think I am making it too thick? I used Plaster of Paris until I read your recipe using Calcium Carbonate Powder so I ordered some from Amazon and will see if that improves my unsightly brush strokes. I also ordered the spray cleaning apparatus and can’t wait to try it. Have a great weekend! Should be a good weekend for yard sales **YEA**
Christy says
Thank you, Cecilia! The calcium carbonate makes for a very smooth paint, but also your brush has a lot to do with it as well. I like an angled Purdy brush, and then I make my final pass over the paint very light as not to leave deep brush strokes. I do sand it after as well and that also helps. I think you’ll really like the calcium carb though! Let me know how it does for you! XOXO
Katy Yo says
It turned out really cute. Nice job!
Christy says
Thank you, Katy! XO