Inchworm Headboard

Create a creepy-crawly headboard for your kids.

from the magazine, Crafts Showcase July 1999

You Will Need:

Cabin Crafter's precut wood headboard or 3/4 x 20 x 44-inch plywood
Pattern in the pattern packet
Paints listed in the palette
1/2 x 2 x 40-inch strip of wood
4 turned-wood fence posts
2 each of 1-1/2-inch-diameter knobs
1-inch-diameter knob
2-inch-diameter discs
1-inch-long plugs
Drill and small bits
Wirecutters
Foam, flat, stencil sponge, and liner paintbrushes
Medium- and fine-grit sandpaper
Sponge makeup wedges
Compressed sponge
18-gauge wire
Aleene's Clear Wood Stain
Gloss Varnish

Paint-Color Palette

Aleene's Premium-Coat Acrylic paint: Black OC176, Deep Green OC140 (DG), Electric Blue OC218 (EB), Maize OC215 (MZ), Medium Blue OC150 (MB), Medium Fuchsia OC168 (MF), Medium Green OC138 (MG), Medium Turquoise OC144 (MT), True Blue OC151 (TB), True Fuschia OC169 (TF), True Green OC139 (TG), True Lime OC133 (TM), True Orange OC115 (TO), True Red OC103 (TR), True Turquoise OC145 (TT), True Violet OC163 (TV), True Yellow OC127 (TY), and White OC173 Aleene's Essentials paint: Blush OC183 (BL), Holiday Green OC181 (HG), and Holiday Red(OC180 (HR) Tulip 3D Slick paint: Black 65038, Golden Yellow 65003, Kiwi 65171, Pink 65010, Purple 65018, True Red 65130, and White 65000 Tulip 3D Pearl paint: Clover 65172, Orange 65049, Peppermint 65053, and Purple 65058

Instructions:

1. Transfer the pattern onto plywood; cut out. Drill holes on the headboard where shown in the photograph. Sand surfaces. Mix 1/4 cup of stain and 1 tablespoon of TG. Sponge on the stain, wiping it off with a paper towel. Let dry. Base-coat the discs (cheeks) TY, the knobs MG (nose) and TE (antennae), and the plugs (eyes) Black; highlight with White.

2. Dilute Black with water to ink consistency and paint the mouth. Paint TV lines on the body. Apply TO dots with a stencil sponge brush. Cut a makeup wedge in half, and sponge on TY.

3. Glue on the cheeks, the nose, and the eyes. Varnish. Let dry. Thread a 12-inch length of 18-gauge wire through the holes of the head, and glue the knobs onto the ends of the wire. Paint the posts as desired. Let dry. Varnish. Screw the headboard to a strip of wood; attach to two posts.

Prepare Your Surface Sand all wood surfaces with medium- and then fine-grit sandpaper. Remove the sanding dust with a tack cloth. Apply primer to all wood surfaces. Let the primer dry, sand again with fine-grit sandpaper, and wipe clean with a tack cloth.