Twin Headboard Makeover With Decoupage, Casting Moulds, Stripes and Stencil

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Are you looking for a neat way to makeover an old plain headboard? Let’s talk about how I did this twin headboard makeover with white Silk Paint, decoupage Paper, moulds and a stencil design for an artistic, yet whimsical look!

And if you are looking for basic info on Chalk Mineral Painting go to:

Chalk Mineral Paint Basics: Tips For Success

I found this older maple wood headboard at my local Habitat Restore. It had a design glued on the top center that had a crack in it, but otherwise was in great shape.

The makeover I had in mind meant removing the glued-on design anyway.

The headboard had great flat panels which were perfect for designs, stencils or other decorative effects. So, this twin headboard got a makeover with casting moulds, decoupage paper, stripes, and a stencil design.

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Products & Supplies For This Twin Headboard Makeover Project

Dixie Belle Silk Paint in Whitecap

Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Satin

Other colors by Dixie Belle Plum Crazy, Kudzu, and Lucky Lavender and some various blues for the cloudy sky painted with torn up dollar tree sponge

Country Chic Vintage Cupcake

Dixie Belle Gilding Wax in Gold

Artist Brushes

Other Brushes: Cling On! S30, Dixie Belle Mini Angle, Flat Medium, Oval Medium, Oval Small

Dixie Belle Best Dang Brush for Stenciling

Paper Plates and Paper Towels

Primer Used: Zinsser BIN Shellac-Based Primer in White

Paint Roller (small 4 inch) small disposable synthetic paint brush from hardware store

Drop Cloths

For Stencil: Redesign With Prima Stick and Style Stencil in Cornell Garden

Painter’s Tape for the Stripes: Scotch Blue Tape

Dixie Belle Belles and Whistles Decoupage Rice Paper Spring Flowers with Stems (retired)

Iron Orchid Designs “He Loves Me” Décor Mould (but any mould would do fine) – Redesign By Prima also makes great moulds

Alumilite Amazing Casting Resin

The Quick Review of Steps In This Twin Headboard Makeover Project

Okay here’s the quick review of the steps I followed in this twin headboard makeover. I’ll give details later in the post for those that want the nitty gritty!

First here is a before and an after picture to help you see how a little paint, decoupage paper, stenciling, and décor casting moulds make such a huge difference!

1. Removed old glued-on design, filled in a few places with wood filler and once dry gave this a quick sanding with my new Surf Prep 3″x4″ Electric Ray Sander!
2. Cleaned with Dixie Belle White Lightening Cleaner and Hot Water followed by a hot water rinse.
3. Primed with Zinsser BIN Shellac-Based Primer 2 coats and let it dry. This primer Dries so quickly – 15 minutes each coat! And I know you don’t have to prime with Silk Paint but I wanted to use less Silk so I opted to prime first for added protection and coverage.
4. Painted two coats of Dixie Belle Silk in Whitecap.
5. Applied the decoupage rice paper and then painted cloudy sky with various blue paints with sponge to give a textured rather than smooth finish
6. Applied the ombre stencil design and top coated that with the Satin Clear Coat.
7. Painted the stripe pattern – two coats for each colored stripe and then top-coated with Satin Clear Coat.
8. Applied Gilding Wax in Gold to a few edges.
9. Made the resin casted designs with the décor moulds, painted the designs and added them to the headboard using E6000 Glue. E6000 is very stinky so avoid getting it on your skin and use only in ventilated areas. Also avoid touching your eyes while using.

Now let’s go step-by-step through this twin headboard makeover. I’ll breeze through some steps that I’ve covered in previous posts and give some referrals back to other posts for more details.

Prepare The Twin Headboard For Paint

The design on the center top came off easily but left a few gouges in the wood surface so after prying that off, the piece got some wood filler.

Once dry I sanded the entire surface lightly using my new Surf Prep 3″x4″ Electric Ray Sander (which I love by the way!).

Next up, cleaning with hot water and White Lightening Cleaner after removing sanding dust. Then a good rinse with hot water and let the piece dry.

Once dry, I opted to Prime with the Zinsser BIN Shellac-Based Primer in White. I must admit that this is my all-time favorite primer.

But it is oil-based and stinky so work in a ventilated area and I recommend wearing gloves and eye protection. Also use only in ventilated areas or outdoors or use a respirator mask.

This primer dries super fast! And It covers fabulously.

Now I know you are thinking “but Dixie Belle Silk doesn’t require primer”! Yes, true. Dixie Belle Silk is an All-in-One paint with primer, paint and topcoat all in one!

But when painting white paint color on a medium to dark wood my personal preference is to use primer. I like the extra coverage it gives and the extra protection.

Just my opinion though and not a necessary step at all! If you’d like to read more about this primer, go to this post:

When To Prime Before Painting? When It’s Necessary & My Top Primer Choices

Now To Paint The Twin Headboard!

Okay here comes the fun part – the paint! I chose Dixie Belle Silk Paint in Whitecap, which is a nice bright white! I just love Silk Paint! It has great coverage, a nice matte finish, and goes on well. . . like Silk. HaHa! It truly goes on like a dream.

This paint is a great consistency also. I did brush the Silk paint on this headboard. But Silk Paint can also be sprayed! Given this piece was mostly a flat panel, brushing on the paint was fairly quick. I have two prior posts all about Silk Paint:

–Dixie Belle Silk Paint: A Quick Review & What You Need To Know About Silk Mineral Paint

–How To Spray Silk Paint & My Experience Using the HomeRight Paint Sprayer

A few Tips About Silk Paint

Check out the blog post on Silk Paint for more in-depth info on painting with Silk. But I’ll give you a few quick tips here:

• Don’t use water misting bottle when brushing on Silk Paint
• Work in long strokes and don’t overwork the paint
• Use a dry synthetic smooth bristle brush for best results
• The paint levels nicely
• Dry time is about 2 hours and most projects require about two coats

I did not topcoat most of this piece. Silk contains a topcoat. As you’ll see below I did apply topcoat over the decoupage paper, the stencil design and the stripes because those were done with regular chalk mineral paint. For more information on topcoats go to this post:

-Choosing the Best Chalk Paint Topcoats: Wax Versus Poly Topcoats

Apply Decoupage Paper

This Belles and Whistles decoupage rice paper comes in three identical sheets. It took two and 1/4 sheets to cover the space for the design. First cut off the little white edging on the paper. Then line up the designs and prepare the layout.

Apply a clear coat (I used Satin) to the design area. Then starting with the first sheet lay down the decoupage paper. Start at one end and smooth out bubbles working across the paper to adhere the remainder. It will have some wrinkles or bubbles.

You can lift up and reposition if needed. Then I used a smooth brush like the Dixie Belle Scarlett Brush or wrap my finger in Saran wrap to smooth out the bubbles gently so the paper doesn’t tear.

Once the decoupage paper is evenly adhered and smoothed out. apply a topcoat like Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Satin. Sometimes once that topcoat is applied you may see new wrinkles or new bubbling. Just smooth out again while the topcoat is wet. Check it one to two more times to make sure no more bubbling occurred.

With a sponge and various blue-hued paints I sponge painted a cloudy bluish white sky. This was just to fill in a bit of the white “empty” space at the top of the design.

And honestly it helped camouflaged a few wrinkly areas that I wasn’t fully satisfied with in my decoupage job! Next, I applied a second coat of Clear Coat in Satin.

For some other fun ways to add creative designs to your painted furniture find more information at:

Furniture Transfers and Stencils

Ombre Stencil Design

Okay the next part of this twin headboard makeover was so cool. I had never done an ombre stencil. My goal was to bring out a few colors in the decoupage paper.

So I reached for Country Chic in Vintage Cupcake – a soft pink, Dixie Belle Plum Crazy – a deep dark magenta pink, Dixie Belle Lucky Lavender-a gorgeous light purple, and Dixie Belle Kudzu– a perfect light floral green.

The stencil is Redesign With Prima Stick and Style Stencil in Cornelle Garden. The cool thing about these stencils is that they adhere and stick well so no bleed through or slipping. Nice clean stencil design results are the outcome and they are amazing!

So once the stencil was adhered, I applied the colors in sections in a pattern across, blending where the colors join. Oh my! I just love the result! I’ll post a short video but I’d encourage you to give this a try! Once dry I applied a coat of Clear Coat in Satin.

I also used a different Stick and Style Stencil on this Nightstand Makeover:

–Nightstand Makeover With Stencil

Now To Paint Stripes!

Okay my biggest issue with painting stripes is getting clean straight edges. I was going for perfection here with these stripes, not shabby chic.

So I used a piece of Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape to space out the stripes. I decided on alternating pattern using three colors, Plum Crazy, Lucky Lavender and the Vintage Cupcake.

So after spacing the stripes using the painter’s tape I first painted over the edge of the tape on every stripe with the base color, the Silk Whitecap. This step takes a bit of time but really helps ensure clean crisp lined edges when you pull up the tape.

Once the base coat was dry I painted the patterned stripe colors using thick artist brushes. I did two coats of each color for good coverage.

I let it dry just a little and then pulled up the tape. Wow, the color stipes look so fun! I love the pops of color. It really adds a little something special to this piece.

Adding Gilding Wax

Gilding wax in gold was added to several edges of this headboard. I started by using the gold wax to frame the decoupaged design in the center. But I went on to add gold to several edges. Oh My! That is what happens with me and gilding wax.

I just want to “gold” everything! These gilding waxes are so pigmented and beautiful. They really add a special touch to projects.

I used my fingertip on some areas and artist brushes on others to apply the Gilding Wax. Either option works well. If you haven’t tried gilding wax on your pieces I encourage you to give it a try.

Adding Resin Mould Designs

Have you tried making decorative castings with moulds? Well, if you haven’t yet tried this technique I do think you will love it! I’ve only used them on a few projects so far but I just love how they turn out.

There are so many design options, mainly by Redesign With Prima but also Iron Orchid Designs. The mould I used here was from Iron Orchid Designs called “He Loves Me” and it was an older mould that I had from a while back.

Although you can make castings with clay and other mediums, I have only used epoxy. This epoxy is the quick casting epoxy that hardens in about 10-15 minutes, so you have to work quickly. But these little castings are just so simple to make.

These were made with Alumilite Amazing Casting Resin which is a two part epxoy that you mix 1:1 and stir quickly. Then you simply pour the resin into the mould, not overflowing just underfill slightly so you get a flat back to your castings.

Then you will see the resin harden and turn white. Next you pop out the designed casting and voila! They come out beautifully and with such detail. The castings can be painted and placed on your project using E6000 clear glue. It works perfectly. But as I said above use safety precautions with this product.

These castings were painted with the colors mentioned earlier. Before painting I sprayed them with a coat of Zinsser Cover Stain Oil-Based Primer in White.

Dixie Belle Slick Stick is another option for priming these. Once this primer is dry you can paint anyway you want. I also added the gold gilding wax to the center of the flowers and along the stem of the green leaves.

Summary – Twin Headboard Makeover With Decoupage, Stripes, Stencil and Casting Moulds

Wow, this twin headboard makeover covered so many design techniques. I think this makeover really helps showcase just how to mix and match different design styles, decor accents, and patterns on a single makeover to really create character. The colors and patterns in this makeover were so fun.

My suggestion is to start by picking one thing that really seems to hit home for you about a project and work from there. For example for this makeover, the decoupage paper was the starting point. That is what I knew for sure I wanted to use. From there I was able to tie in the other colors, accent casted designs and more to pull this piece together.

If you have any questions please reach out to me AND I’d love to connect on social. I hang out most on:

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Happy Painting! XOXO Abbey