Avery’s Pink Tufted Mantle Headboard

I sanded it down a bit, added some glaze and sealant to make sure to get all the flaky paint sealed and gave it a good cleaning!!!
Now it was time to start tufting it!  I have a tufted mantle headboard in my guest room and I love it!

1. FABRIC:  I used a canvas drop cloth from Lowes.  These are the best because they look so good, are durable, huge and super cheap!  This one is only $10.98 and I still had a lot left over.  Wash it before you use it.
2. BOARD:  Measure the back opening of the mantle with about an inch extra on each side so you can attach it.  I bought a board at Home Depot for $14.97 and had it cut.  Here is the barcode for what I bought and a photo of the cut board.

• cut the foam down to size and lay the textured side down on the board.  Next you take your fabric and lay it over the board and use a staple gun to attach it all around the board.  Pull the fabric super tight so there is no puckering.

• After you have the fabric on the board you need to decide where you want your buttons to go.  I laid them out on the board and eyeballed the way I wanted it.  Then I put a sharpie dot where I wanted them to go so I knew where to drill the holes.
• Next, drill holes where your dots are.  This is where you will pull the buttons through.

• Now we need to talk about how to make Fabric covered buttons!

I bought a button kit at Hobby Lobby for less than $5.  It has everything you need to do this (except the fabric)  Here is what it looks like.  It comes with 3 buttons (you can buy extra of these because you will want more buttons for the tufting…I bought 12), a blue piece that helps push the button back on, and a white piece that you lay the fabric over and push the button into.

• Now that you have the buttons complete it is time to add them to the fabric covered board that you have completed.  
• Tie super strong thread (I used twine) to the back of the buttons (they all have little metal loops) and leave a long string.  
• Then get a crochet needle and use this to pull the string through the holes you drilled into your fabric cover board.  This is what it will look like from the back once you pull them through all the holes.
  
• Now it is time to tighten everything.  Push the front of the buttons down as hard as you can in the foam so it creates a puckering in the foam and pull the string from the back super tight and staple it down.  I stapled the string on the back side and then knotted it around the staple to make sure it was super secure.  Do this to each button and it will create a tufted look! Here is a close up of the back…not very pretty from this side, but it works.
  
  
• Here is a view from the other side once you have completed this process.
  
• Now it is time to attach it to the actual mantle.  Lay this board on the back of the mantle and screw it in at the sides.  This is why you make the board about an inch wider on each side so there is room to attach it.  Here is what it will look like from the back.