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!

A wreath.....finally!

 

 

                                         Well, I finally finished the wreath for my front door. It really didn't take me long to make the wreath, only a few hours. Once I chose a paint color ( which happened today by the way, you know you can't rush genius ;) ) it wasn't long until I was actually finished. Now it hangs on my front door. I'm so happy it all went as planned and turned out pretty much like the picture in my head. I started out with coffee filters (I believe they are the 8-12 cup pot size) I got these at the dollar store along with a square piece of  Styrofoam. That's right a 3 buck investment. I will say I used about 1 and 1/2 packages to make my wreath. I also cut a piece of card board to cover the back of the Styrofoam.

 

 

 



                                         
                                          I used the pencil method to make mine. Put the coffee filter around the end of a pencil. Put some glue on and stick it!

                                                   
                                                    I started with a row around the outside of my base. When that was finished I did rows across of four continuing all the way around until I was finished.

                                        

                                                
                                                   I knew I had to do something else with it because it looked a little like wedding decor. My hubby said it looked like a carnation. That's where the paint came in. I had to figure out what color I wanted before, because like I already said, there was no going back or repainting this one. So I chose brown leather spray paint. You will see where the pink comes in later.

 

    
                                                    I used a very light hand when spraying. I like the way it looks. I am happy with how it turned out.



a close up to show paint detail

                                         Remember I only used 1 1/2 packs of filters. I made a ball with some of the rest. I guess I didn't realize how big this was going to turn out. Bigger than I thought it would. This is where the pink paint came into play. I used the ball as a test for the paint. I went a bit heavier handed with the pink. I just started gluing the filters around the center of a Styrofoam ball I already had. Continuing in "layers" until one side was finished and then flipped it over and finished the other side. What do you think? Not sure where this is going to go yet, because of the size.

                                         I knew this would need some paint, too. Kind of a bit wedding-ly. Is that even a word? Oh well you know what I mean. Here it is after adding some paint.

                                                    The paint is a bit thicker on here. They both dried beautifully. Pretty easy. Not bad for about $3.00 for both. I really like the wreath. In all I worked on the wreath about 3-4 hours. It took so long to actually finish because of my fear of paint commitment. I am working on this, no really I AM. I hope you enjoyed today's post.Thanks for visiting! Come back soon! Have a sweet day!






                                         



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.





A faux fireplace redo

                         I don't have a real fireplace in my house, so I have to make do with the faux surround. I got it for a steal a few years ago $15.00 brand new. Here's what it usually looks like.

               I decorate it for Christmas, but this is what it looks like most of the time. Pretty boring. I decided it needed a little something. Here's what it looks like after I tweaked it a little. The top stayed the same. I have to keep it somewhat clear so we can see through the "window" into and out of the kitchen. I completed a few more projects this week ( yay me) and now that they are done I added them to the mix.

                  I am really pleased with how it turned out. In the next few posts I will share how I made the window, the family banner, and the letter. It may not seem that different, but the lights glow at night and it looks pretty. What do you think? Better? I believe so. Have a wonderful day!