Beach inspired fireplace decorations

Remember this?

                                      Remember I said I couldn't promise that I wouldn't show my faux fireplace again. Well here it is, I know, again. It's looking a little different though, that has to count for something, right? Well, not in the above picture. I had to put that up there in case you didn't remember it. You know I'm only thinking of you!  Almost everything beachy I made from stuff I already had. Except for the wooden fence. I got the wood at Lowe's for about 3 bucks. So here's the after:

 

 



                                            

 

 

                              Where to start? Let's see... I made the summer banner from scrapbook paper and ribbon I already had. Just paper this time nothing fancy. I used the same stencils as before with the family banner. Oh, I just remembered I did buy the fishing net for this too. I got it at the Dollar Store. It was made of white cotton string. I mixed some black, green, and white paint together then thinned it with water. I soaked the net in it for a few minutes and then put it on the driveway in the sun to dry. The wooden fence is supposed to look like the fences I have seen at the beach. I bought two pieces of wood at Lowe's. I cut them into 3 pieces each and used some rusty wire pieces to connect it together to make it more fency, yes I said fency not fancy. I stained the wood with the vinegar and steel wool stuff. Have you tried that yet?  That may be what my next post is about. I really like the way it makes wood look. I made the beach sign also.  It looks pretty when I light it up at night. I put some seashells we have collected from past trips to the beach in some jars along with sand. The brass lantern was a gift from my favorite cousin quite a few years ago. So there you have it. Again, not very fancy, but I like the simpleness of it. It seems to fit there. Just the right beachy feel I was going for. 

I hope you are enjoying you week. We'll talk again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

The faux frosted window

       

                                       Remember this?  I would hope so, it hasn't been that long. Well, I am here today to tell you how I made my "frosted" window. I'm not sure I should call it a frosted window since I made it in the spring.  But oh well, that's what I'm going to call it. I started with an old window. I have quite a few because I can't bear to leave them to get thrown away. I have to stop and rescue them. I cleaned it all up and  decided it was already a color I liked so I left it alone. I could have painted it, but wasn't sure what color ( I seem to have that problem a lot). I'm really glad I left that part as it was. It goes well with everything else. Here it is before:

                                   You can see it was pretty dirty. It has been sitting around just waiting to be used.  I couldn't decide how to treat the windows. I knew I didn't want to leave them clear. I knew I was going to add lights to the back and wanted a glowing effect when I was done. I decided to use clear vinyl decorative covering. I got my roll at the dollar store. My window panes were slightly larger than I expected, so I had to go get a second roll. Still, not bad for 2 bucks.

                                       Measure and cut the vinyl slightly larger than the panes, I trimmed mine off  after I applied it to the glass. You can see here how the clear vinyl makes the glass look frosted. Of course I forgot to take pictures while I was applying it. It was a bit tricky. Had I read the directions I would have known to dampen the surface with water and detergent. So I guess what I'm saying is to read directions. Maybe I could have done a better job keeping the bubbles away. Hind sight!

 

 

 

                                          Here is a closer shot of the finished "frost". I wasn't too worried about the bubbles. I still think had I used the water method it would have gone on easier. I am pleased with how it turned out anyway.



                                                I added a string of lights to the back. I used little metal hooks that were screwed onto the frame to keep the lights in place. I also added some cut dowel rods to hold the frame in place so it won't fall over in my fireplace.

                                         Again, I had to take pictures after it was already in the opening. Oops. I do that a lot. Do you ever forget to take a picture until you need it and then have to "make do" with the best you can get? I really need to work on that! So one more shot of the finished product.

 

 

                                          That's it. I hope you find this helpful. I think it turned out better than I thought it would.  Happy about that. If you have any questions or comments feel free to put them in the comment section. Thanks. Have a sweet day.