Fireplace Reveal

I am excited to share the fireplace with you now that it is ALMOST finished. I am back at work from the Christmas break now, so who the heck knows when it will be TOTALLY finished. Ha! So..focus on the part I am happiest about for now...the mantel. :-) 

What do you think? Hold that thought...here is the before picture again. Brass 70's style fireplace surround, brown mantel, and blah brown brick. 

Now what do you think? :-) 

I bought the majority of the knick knacks at Hobby Lobby (where else?) I built the shutters and the window box thingy (official term) myself and added cute hardware from HL. 

Inside the window box are small tin buckets that hold burlap clad plants. (Remember when I showed you the milk crate in another post. Yep, that is what these sweet little plants came in..twofer! Yay!). The tins were just $1.99, not too shabby. 

Now on to the less exciting stuff...cords! It was so important to me that when I redid the fireplace that I hide all of the cords somewhere so that they would not make all of my hard work look bad. So, I went to Lowes and grabbed some cheap mdf trim that had a bit of an edge on it and covered the cords with it. 

Here is my husband helping me get all of the cords zip tied together to keep them as compact as possible so that they will be nice and neat. 

And here is my hubby adding the trim right on top of the cords. Don't worry, the trim creates a gap so that the cords are not smooshed. :-) we just used my brad nailer and added just a few brad nails to the outside and inside edges of the trim to hold the trim in place. I made sure not to overdo it in case we have to change out wires, cables, etc. 

We did have to make s small "hole" into the trim to make the cords coming directly out of the mantle lay a smidge flatter. 

All that is left for me to do is add the paintable caulk to the trim and give it a quick coat of paint to match the trim in the rest of the house and it will be good to go! 

As I am sure you have noticed, I am not completely satisfied with the bottom of the fireplace (hearth) because it needs the same vavroom as the mantel. I definitely have to cover up the BluRay player at the far right on the hearth. I have the perfect idea for that, I hope it works to cover it up well..stay tuned for that update. Of course the left hand side of the hearth is for the firewood and the things that go along with having a wood burning fireplace. 

Well friends, I will keep you posted as I continue to finish it up and style the hearth. Let me know what you think or if you have any southern styling tips for the hearth. 

Blessings, 

Amanda 

Picture Turned Chalkboard

Ten years ago or so I was walking around Kirklands and I found this picture. 

I immediately fell in love with it (I was going through a Shabby Chic, reds and yellows phase) as it went perfectly with my couch, etc. Fast-forward to 2015 and as I look at it hanging on my hall wall all I see is brightness! I have a more neutral, farmhouse, rustic, southern style now and it just doesn't fit with that style. So, I had an idea. I am currently loving the mercury glass look that is being seen everywhere and I decided that since the frame was already gold, I would attempt to DIY it. I also love chalkboards (maybe it's a teacher thing ;-)) so I knew that I wanted to make the "canvas" become a chalkboard. 

*note, on this particular picture there was a hard "canvas"...not even sure it was an actual canvas as there were no brush stokes,etc. I am not sure how this technique will work on a authentic canvas.

Supplies Needed:

For Mercury Glass Frame- 

Rustoleum Mirror Effect spray paint

Spray bottle 

White vinegar 

Soft rag 

Water

For Chalkboard-

Rustoleum Chalkboard spray paint

The first thing that I did was mix half water and half vinegar in the spray bottle and shook it up to mix. I then sprayed the frame with the mixture. Don't saturate it, just several good squirts on the frame all over. 

Next, spray the Mirror Effect spray all over the frame. I didn't tape off the canvas because I knew that I would make it chalkboard anyway. 

Let it dry for about five minutes and then take your rag and splotch dry the water/vinegar droplets off. This will allow the gold to show through a bit giving it that mercury glass look. 

After the frame has completely dried, tape off the edges of the frame with painters tape and spray the canvas area with chalkboard spray paint. 

Allow the paint to dry. 

The best part about having a chalkboard in the house is that you can change it out daily, weekly, or monthly to include your favorite quote, Bible verse, or even a birthday message for each family member's birthday. :-) 

Not my best handwriting, but that's another great thing about chalkboards...they are not supposed to be perfect. 

What do you think? Have you ever done anything like this? I think it's a great way to repurpose outdated art. 

Blessings, 

Amanda 

Switching Gears

Putting the fireplace on hold for a sec,  I wanted to show you my new/old console table :-) 

It started off as a cheapy that I got as a hand-me-down from my mom and I think ended up pretty adorable. I am still getting used to this blogging thing and remembering to stop long enough to take pictures along the way is a little challenging. So...here is the first picture that I remembered to snap...after I had already painted it griege. I had just gone through 12 sample paints from Lowes and Home Depot trying to get the best color for my refreshed living room, so I decided to use one of those samples for the table. If you are interested, the color I went with is called Ivory Brown from Valspar. 

After I painted everything twice, I distressed the edges a little with a fine sanding block because I adore the look of distressed furniture (and, more importantly, I have three kiddos and know that it will get distressed anyway..so why not start with it that way?).

Then, I found an adorable mercury glass style knob for the drawer at Hobby Lobby during the 50% off metal decor sale? Love that place! Scored it for around $4 bucks! 

Here is the finished table. I love it! Although I have purchased a few things for it, I haven't gotten around to styling it yet because I haven't redone the entryway walls yet and done want to see it all set up until then...ha, ha.. I know I'm weird. 

Oh, but before I go and because I know you all love a great deal like I do, I got the wire crate at Hobby Lobby (are you sensing a pattern here?) It was originally filled with six little burlap plant arrangements that I bought to decorate the fireplace with (more on that later) and then I repurposed the crate with clear, glass milk bottles that I found at Michaels for $1.50 each. I love the farmhouse look. Not sure where this will end up in my house, but what a great deal! 

What do you think? Better huh? :-) What projects are you working on? I would love to hear from you. 

Blessings, 

Amanda 

New Year, New Blog

I am so excited that I am starting this blog. Let's be honest, all I really hope for is to be able to document my life, my renovations, and craft adventures and if I am lucky (I mean really lucky) you will join me in this journey. :-) So, let's jump right in with the first post shall we? 

Okay, so, here is a little background on me. I am a teacher, currently teaching first grade in Texas. I have three kiddos and a hardworking hubby. About five years ago my husband and I bought our first home together. Did I mention that I am a school teacher? Yeah, well that means we had to be reasonable in our purchase and ended up with a 1970-somethin' ranch-style house that had good bones but needed lots of love. I had just had our second baby when we purchased our home and so I rushed in, painted all the walls and cabinets in a flash and in we moved. Whew. 

Fast-forward a few years and I was more than ready for a change. So, I began the slow process of changing things up a little bit at a time. Did I save all of the before and after pics..heck no, what was I thinking? I guess I wasn't anticipating a blog :-) 

Anyway, since I have been on Christmas break for two weeks, I seized the moment and worked on the house a bit. My focus was on the living room this go 'round. 

Here is a picture of the "before" fireplace. It takes up a whole corner in the living room and is the focal point since we decided to mount the t.v. above it. So, it was definitely time for a makeover.

I was too scared to actually paint paint the fireplace bricks, so I decided to whitewash the bricks with the same off white color that I used on all of my trim (Heirloom Lace from Lowe's).

Next, I had to get rid of that brass on the fireplace facing. My plan of attack was Rustoleum brand black paint made for high heat (it comes in a spray paint or regular brush on paint). 

Last, my mantel was stained a dark brown and since my t.v. and my new fireplace surround would be black, I decided to stain it black too (Ebony to be exact) to make it all look cohesive. 

We had already whitewashed my outside brick and so I had a little experience and it wasn't as scary for me. All you do is mix paint and water 50/50 to create a really watered down paint wash. Grab a rag and a brush and go to town painting. BEWARE...this will be a messy process! The paint is super thin and will drip like crazy so have your rag handy and cover anything that you don't want to get dripped on with painters tape. The brick is like a sponge and will soak up the paint quickly. So as to not go overboard I did a light coverage first and then let it all soak in and then made the decision to go a little thicker and do a second coat on several of the bricks. 

Here is a picture of the bottom half completed. See the difference from the top to the bottom? 

Although the lighting is horrible, here is the finished whitewashing job, black fireplace surround, and stained black mantel.

 

Stay tuned for the finished fireplace with it all fancied up southern style. :-) 

Blessings, 

Amanda