Wooden faux fireplace Cover

I saw this picture of a lovely faux log fireplace cover on one of my friends (Carson's) facebook this morning. I thought it was so adorable. Carson agreed to send me the "how to's" and a few more pictures to share. Hope you like it as much as I do. They did an awesome job! Here are the instructions she sent me:

"We had some fallen oak limbs in our yard that we let dry since summer. Jeff cut them with his miter saw to different depths for interest ( he didn't do any deeper than what he could use a finishing nail gun with to attach them). He cut a piece of plywood the exact opening of the fireplace and attached foam insulation to the back. Then he stained the plywood with an ebony color. He did cut some 2x4s to make "L" shaped brackets on the back of the board for extra support and weight to keep it upright. Then I arranged all the pieces he cut, so everything looked balanced. He then nailed all the pieces into the plywood from the front through the discs of wood. A couple of the pieces of wood were loose, so he nailed those from the back. It was a quick project. All the pieces were left over from other projects except the stain, and that only cost $4!"

I seriously have got to try this for our fireplace.. as soon as I can get rid of the ugly brass cover I have on it! Thanks, Carson and Jeff, for sharing your DIY project with us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mismatched Sock Snake Tutorial

I saw this tutorial on pinterest and just had to share it with you.  It came from Kathleen over @
http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2013/05/mismatched-socks-sew-sock-snake.html.  I thought it was such a great idea.  Unfortunately, I just cleaned out our sock drawers and got rid of all the un-matching pair :(  However, I know it won't take long to have enough "singles" to make one of these.  Click on over to Kathleen's site and check it out.  She even has a free PDF for you! 

My new Craft/Sewing room!

Hello bloggin' world.  With the wedding behind me; (it was SO wonderful!)  I am now attempting to organize my house.  After a year of nothing but wedding projects -- things have gotten a little lot out of hand.  Everything in my house is unorganized and it is driving me CRAZY!! (Did I mention that I may have OCD?)  My first project is to move my craft room.  As most of you know, Tracy built me the most amazing little craft room two years ago. (pictures below)   It has been wonderful and I have enjoyed it so much!  BUT -- I have outgrown it.  I started back sewing  and now I need a place to scrapbook and sew.  SEW -- pun intended -- now we have decided to move my craft/sewing room to the extra bedroom (aka Hannah's old room and current room when she comes home to visit).  Tracy will be taking over the old craft room and it will become his new study/man cave/place for hunting stuff storage room.

 

My "old" craft room (which I adored but outgrew!)

 

I want to make my new room cozy and welcoming.  Hannah and guests will be staying in this room on occasion too. I chose not to paint the walls because we  did that about a year ago.  I decided to keep the slate gray color and add red and black to the color scheme.   I plan to put a full size bed in one corner -- so that left me the rest of the room to work with.    I have stalked pinterest and found some amazing ideas.  First -- I wanted a special place for Hope (my youngest daughter) to enjoy.  She loves to paint and draw.   I saw lots of posts about closets turned into craft rooms. So -- I got to work emptying out the closet.  I did have to paint inside here; because (for some unknown reason)  it was purple.  Lol.

Closet turned into crafting space

 

We already had this desk in her room.  It was too large to fit in the closet; so Tracy did a little altering to it and now it's a perfect fit!

The lamp was a thrift store find and the storage boxes came from Dollar General.

 



I added this cloth shower curtain and love that I can just pull it shut when the desk is messy.
 I found the curtain at Dollar General.

 

After finishing the closet; I went to work on the rest of the room.  I wanted to have LOTS of storage space without taking up too much of my working space.  I tried to go up with my storage instead of out.  Tracy built the desk area and the standing table  (which I LOVE).   I also wanted to have room to display the things that inspire me.    So far, I am happy with the outcome.  I am planning on adding new curtains soon.  Maybe some red ones???

I used a matching vinyl tablecloth ($4.00 from Dollar General) as a curtain underneath the work desk.  I cut it in half and sewed an opening for the rod to slide in.

I purchased this cubicle from Lowes ($30.00) and Tracy attached the piece of wood on top for my standing workstation.  He placed 2 legs at the opposite end and I have yet to paint them white. 

I love this vintage bread box.  I put some of my material and a little vintage dress inside it.  It makes me smile just looking at it!

Here are 2 of my sewing machines.  The one on the left was my Christmas present from my kids and the one on the right is hiding under a cover.  The cover is a vintage one that belonged to my mom.  It was actually used over her mixer.  Since I don't use the mixer; (not even sure it still works) I put it over my sewing machine.  On the window sill is a primitive valentine envelope that I sewed up a few years ago.  Sweet little hearts and a cardinal are placed inside.  Once again -- a reminder of my mom.

 

I love this little area here.  The 3 bodice hangers were a gift from my Step-Mother (Susan).

 

Just another view....

 

The strawberry apron belonged to my mom also.  Check out that little tricycle on the top shelf.  It is actually a flower planter that I found at a thrift store. I spray painted it red and it holds some of my thread and fabric.  These stackable cabinets are cheap and are a great place to store all my fabrics.  (I already had them in different areas of my home.  I just put them all together and stacked them here.)

 

I bought the string of lights at our local Antique Mall for $3.00.  Hard to tell from the picture, but they have red polka dots on them. 

Just another view...........

Still enjoying my card rack that I found at the Habitat Restore two years ago.  I love displaying my cards.  My girls often drop in and say, "Hey, I need a card for a friend."  Then they just go choose what they like!

 

I pulled this shoe rack from the empty closet and re-purposed it for a craft rack.  It works pretty well!  The scrapbook page on the wall is one I made years ago that I  really like. 

These red baskets were purchased from a thrift store called "The Miserly Mutt" and used for my  Fourth of July party.  They are great for storing all of my little things that I use with scrapping and sewing.

Found these shelves for a great price at Fred's.  Of course, I had to have somewhere to show off  pictures of my girls and some of my favorite cards!

Mason jars... ahhh.. you gotta have em.

 

Well, now I have almost finished the first two phases of my room.  The closet and the crafting station. (I still need to label my boxes and get new curtains)   Now -- I still have another corner left.  This area will be for Hannah's bed.    I am using this picture as inspiration for what I plan to do.  The room layout is just like this with a window on the side.  Of course, I am going with the black/red color scheme, but I like the idea of the shelf and nightstand.

Thanks for dropping by and stay tuned for Phase Three of the room! 

 

Owl bookends up-do

 

I found these two bookends at a local thrift store.  I thought they were so cute; but I did not like the googly eyes or the color.  I decided to spray paint them a cream color.  I really like the way they turned out!  I  placed them on  my mantle instead of using them as bookends.  Hope you like them as much as I do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

Wedding Reception Shabby chic theme

Hello bloggin' friends.  I finally received the wedding reception photos and wanted to share a few with you.  Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!  Come back soon!