DIY Faux Fireplace

One of my favorite projects we completed recently is the faux fireplace I added to my shop (booth space).  

After years of helping homeowners decorate their mantels for every holiday and season -- I knew that I not only had car-loads of mantel decor, but I also might be able to share some decorating tips through my displays.  Plus I thought it would add a cozy touch to my space :)

I was struck with the idea after I saw Sophia's shared on Apartment Therapy . . .

Source:  Apartment Therapy

Sophia was fortunate enough to have a really nice, oversized mantel available to use -- SWOON!  All the flea-market mantels I came across were WAY out of my price range -- so I decided to enlist the help of my hubby and bro-in-law to help me make one.

Here is what I used, in all the cost was less than $50 :::

• wall mount floating shelf 48" wide (similar to this); our shelf was 10" deep that we had on display at our old house and never found a good spot for it in our new one.  I honestly do not remember where we bought it.
• 48x48" plywood, we used 1/4" sheet as a base for the firebox surround, the shelf was mounted on top of the 48" sheet.
• 1/8" plywood cut for firebox surround (fastened to the top of the 48" sheet)
• Classic Pilasters from Lowe's
• Set of 2 Corbels also from Lowe's (just used the ones I liked best with the Pilasters)
• Nail Gun, Wood Glue, Caulk, Paint, chalk-marker and chalk.  Roller, brush etc.

I also used 2 sets of Damask Wall Accents from Southern Living at Home, that I had on hand.  This added a bit of fanciness to the fireplace surround.

Here is where you are going to have to use a bit of your imagination.  I asked my son to remove a game he installed on my phone . . . he wiped my phone, clearing my camera roll.  SO . . . I don't have all the pictures of the firebox surround coming together taken on my phone (Sorry about that).

After all the elements were attached and the mantel & firebox surround were one solid piece, 

I caulked around many of the seams.  

I also played around with the Damask Wall Accents to determine if their placement . . . 

and then I painted . . . 

. . .  and painted away.

I used Old White & Graphite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint because it was what I had on hand -- 

and it covers SO VERY WELL!

I used a piece of white kraft paper and added the measurements of my firebox, to give me an idea of how big to draw my roaring fire.  I then referred back to Sophia's fireplace and used a ruler and a sharpie to sketch out the firebox -- 

the ruler helped with the angles and bricks.

Once I was happy with how it looked I covered the back of the sketch paper with chalk 

and tapped it to my dark painted firebox. 

Using a colored pencil I traced over my sketch to transfer the image to my firebox.

I followed that up by drawing the roaring fire with a white chalk pen, 

and white chalk for shading and highlights.

I was pretty tickled with the results!

I distressed the painted damask accents a bit for character and glued them down with industrial glue.

After they were stuck in place, the fireplace was ready to install. 

We anchored it to the wall and I touched up the paint a bit -- and vacuumed the floor of course. :)

I lost of lot of the pictures I took of the fireplace all decorated in my shop when my camera phone 

was wiped clean . . . but this may give you a little idea . . . 

. . . and another.

Many other projects to share . . . so I hope you come back soon!

Thank you so much!

I am linking up with these fabulous blogs :::                                  •  Miss Mustard Seed

•  Practically Functional                                                              •  Coastal Charm

•  Savvy Southern Style                                                              •  Home Stories from AtoZ

•  It's Overflowing                                                                      •  Sumo's Sweet Stuff    

•  Nifty Thrifty Things                                                                 •  The DIY Dreamer

•  Not Just a Housewife                                                             •  Ivy & Elephants

•  DIY by Design                                                                       •  Southern Lovely

•  Fine Craft Guild                                                                     •  Cedar Hill Ranch

•  Uncommon Slice of Suburia                                                   •  From My Front Porch to Yours  

•  Stone Gable                                                                           •  Fox Hollow Cottage - Power of Pins 

•  Imparting Grace                                                                     •  Feathered Nest Friday

•  The Thrifty Groove                                                                 •  Common Ground

•  Redoux Interiors                                                                     • The Charm of Home

•  Jennifer Rizzo                                                                         • Chic on a Shoestring

•  The Shabby Nest                                                                   • Fox Hollow Cottage

•  Too Much Time on My Hands                                               • Tater Tots & Jello    

•  Pieced Pastimes                                                                     • Finding Silver Pennies  

•  Three Mango Seeds                                                               • Between Naps on the Porch

•  If it's not Baroque Design                                                        • Shades of Amber

Easy Easter Tree Centerpiece

I picked up some mercury glass mini Easter eggs from Pottery Barn on clearance a while back 

and just ran across them (again) the other day . . .tucked away {I have a habit of tucking things 

away and forgetting about them -- you too?}

Realizing I didn't have a way of displaying them I decided to create a little Easter tree centerpiece.

I literally snagged a branch from the backyard and gave it a quick sanding, followed by a quick coat 

of Old White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (I didn't have any spray paint on hand, but

that would of worked too).

I added the branch to a terra-cotta planter that I previously painted in Old White, as shown here, 

using some floral foam and a bit of hot glue.

I decided to cover the floral foam with left-over artificial grass I bought at Hobby Lobby.  

I had used some of the grass previously in my Sister's Brunch Centerpiece.

It was easy to cover the foam with this grass.  I just pulled it off the plastic frame and added a 

large dollop of hot glue to the flat base and held it on the foam for a few seconds . . . 

working around the branch until all the foam was covered.

To add a bit of Spring to my bare white branch, I pulled a few buds & blooms off 

a silk cherry blossom branch that had seen better days. 

{why yes, I do have a closet full of faux florals . . . why do you ask?}

I used hot glue to add these blooms to my new Easter tree.

The mini eggs look dazzling on their new tree.

The Egg Hunt sign, is a mini-chalkboard on a stick I recently bought from Pick Your Plum.

I gave it a quick swipe with Old White Chalk Paint and used a chalk marker to write on it.

I am pretty happy with my little Easter tree -- 

so much so that I made two and added one to my booth space.

Thank you for stopping in! I would love to hear from you, and will be sharing more soon!

6 Days of Spring Linky Party!

• Say Not Sweet Anne                                                                      • Sumo's Sweet Stuff                                                              

• Homemaker on a Dime                                                                   • Under the Table & Dreaming

• Practically Functional                                                                      • Coastal Charm
• Savvy Southern Style                                                                      • Home Stories from AtoZ
• DIY Showoff                                                                                  • It's Overflowing
• Nifty Thrifty Things                                                                         • The DIY Dreamer
• Not Just a Housewife                                                                      • Ivy & Elephants
• DIY by Design                                                                                • Southern Lovely

• We Are That Family                                                                        • Fine Craft Guild
• Cedar Hill Ranch                                                                             • Uncommon Slice of Suburia
• Design Decor Tuesday                                                                    • From My Front Porch to Yours
• Stone Gable                                                                                    • Mom on Time-out
• Imparting Grace                                                                              • The Thrifty Groove
• Common Ground                                                                            • Redoux Interiors
• The Charm of Home                                                                       • Jennifer Rizzo
• Chic on a Shoestring                                                                       • Between Naps on the Porch
• The Shabby Nest                                                                            • Fox Hollow Cottage
• Too Much Time on My Hands                                                        • Tater Tots & Jello   
• The Tablescaper                                                                             • Pieced Pastimes                                                               
• Finding Silver Pennies                                                                      • Three Mango Seeds
• At the Picket Fence

I'm BAaaacccCK . . . Changing Table to Kitchen Hutch

Let me start my offering my sincere apologies for being absent from the blog world for far too long!
I am SO Glad to Be Back and Giddy to Share a Thousand-and-One projects with you!  Many seasonal decorating ideas will probably have to wait until their next season -- but the furniture makeovers will be shared away!

I opened a booth in a local antique mall at the end of last September and had a blast thrifting for treasures to fill it with . . . and of course learning A LOT along the way . . . as you will hear more about later.

I revamped this baby changing table into a stylish kitchen hutch last October . . .

. . . here is a side by side BEFORE {blah yellowish 'wood'} and AFTER {yum coolness}:

I bought 'her' from a local family who no longer needed her . . . and while I didn't 'need' her either, I knew she could be more than just nursery furniture and could provide fabulous kitchen storage for a hip young couple (again not me -- it is just who I imagined would fall in love with her -- ever do that?).

I replaced her flimsy hutch backing with bead-board that I had cut to size at Lowe's.

She was painted with multiple coats of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint goodness in Old Ocher and French Linen.  I applied a combination of clear and dark wax to the French Linen (hutch back & 'counter tops'), 

and just used clear wax on the Old Ocher.

The interiors were painted in Duck Egg Blue for a bit of happy!

All the hardware was purchased at Pottery Barn {yay coupons!} . . . 

I love the 'ice box latch' for the cabinet door -- coolness!

I hand-wrote the labels for the 'bin' drawer pulls, and included additional labels 

for the new {hip} owners to change out as needed.

I was really happy with how she turned out . . . but I hope to stick to real wood furniture going forward.

She sold rather quickly in my shop {yay, income producing hobbies!} 

and is making a hip-young couple very happy in her new home!

Thank YOU so much for stopping in -- I will be sharing more soon (I promise)!

Click on the links to see all the fun blogs I am sharing with today:

• Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday       Funky Junk Interior's Saturday Night Special
• Elizabeth & Co.                                                    Savvy Southern Style
• Someday Crafts                                                    {Primp}
• French Country Cottage                                        The Shabby Nest
• My Romantic Home                                              The Better Half
• Between Naps on the Porch                                  Thrifty Decor Chick
• Not Just a Housewife                                            DIY by Design
• Southern Lovely                                                    Fine Craft Guild 
• Cedar Hill Ranch                                                   Uncommon Slice of Suburia
• From My Front Porch to Yours                             Stone Gable 
• The Thrifty Groove                                                Common Ground
• Redoux Interiors                                                    The Charm of Home
• Jennifer Rizzo                                                         Chic on a Shoestring
• The Shabby Nest                                                   Fox Hollow Cottage
• Too Much Time on My Hands                               Tater Tots & Jello     
• Pieced Pastimes                                                     Finding Silver Pennies
• Three Mango Seeds                                               Shades of Amber