cottage instincts: Tis the Seasons

Showing posts with label Tis the Seasons. Show all posts

11.29.2013

::Christmas Past Pt 1: Mantels::

So I'm feelin' kinda sorry for myself 'cause I won't be doing much holly day decorating this year. That would be thanks to my builder who is taking so ding dang long to get us closed.

I thought I'd get all my mantels together from the past 4 years of blogging. It might make me feel more in the mood and give me something to post that fits with what everyone else is blogging. Just want to be a team player, ya know. Links go to the actual posts with more pics and stuff.

My first Christmas blogging was 2009. I attempted to go with the rustic 80's look of our fireplace at the time. Try not to be blinded by the shiny brass on the doors. I also about killed myself and anyone within striking range by making stockings. Which I don't show in this shot....but they're in the next one. So there.

Here's take two with the evil stockings...

Christmas 2010 was a totally different look as we completely redid the fireplace and mantel. I glitterfied the entire thing and drank the coffee filter wreath kool-aid. I also made burlap stockings that I'm pretty sure someone from Country Living copied and put in their mag. Whatever. It's still one of my most popular and pinned posts to date. Voila!

(If you want to read about how we painted the fireplace, click here.)

Next up is Christmas 2011, which might be my favorite, but it didn't make a big splash in the blogosphere like the previous year. I repurposed Dollar Store white stockings instead of making some from scratch. Hallelujah. I was also drowning in ginormous pinecones due to my middle daughter's rustic chic wedding a week after Christmas. Boom.

Loved it!

Last year's Christmas mantel was a study in aquas and whites. I've gathered quite a collection of blues and whites for my holly day decor, so it was pretty easy to put this together. Repurposed those white stocking from Dollar Store yet again. Ta Da!

It was soft and wonderful.....

Which brings me to this year......in a temporary home with no mantel. :(

There's a really awesome one next door in our new house, so I hope there will still be time to decorate it once we close and move. I may be posting Christmas mantel decor in mid-January. You never know.

So which is your favorite?

4.16.2013

::About That Fireplace::

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!

You can now find me at

www.acottagegirl.com

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It's been more than 2 years since we redid our fireplace, and I still get emails asking how I did it. I'm totally not kidding you, I lay awake at night sometimes kicking myself for never doing a tutorial.
Bad blogger.

Today I intend to remedy that by giving you the deets. THIS POST will give you a brief history and some before and afters and all that. It's still in the top five most viewed posts I've done.

So before I get into my actual process, I need to show you all the ways I decorated it over the last few years. I'm doing this mostly because we just moved out of that house 7 weeks ago, and the fireplace is about the only thing I was sentimental about leaving. *sniff*

So this is my tribute to that blessed wall of brick in chronological order. Linked dates will take you to the posts for more pictures. (cue Barbara's Memories track)

Christmas 2009, just a month or so after starting ye olde blogge

Winter 2010

Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 #2....had to change it up 'cause the wee punkins in the above shot done molded. Ew.

Thanksgiving 2010

Presto-Chango!

Thanksgiving #2 (hadn't done the beefy trim under the mantel yet)

Along with painting the brick, I painted the mirror, we added beaded board wallpaper to the ceiling and molding around the top of the room, and I painted the gold around the door black.

Boy did I go nutso that first Christmas....I glitterfied every ding dang thing I could. I was darn proud of that fireplace makeover.

Christmas 2010 (trim added)

Blurry Spring 2011

Fall 2011

Christmas 2011

Spring 2012

Halloween 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Christmas 2012

Winter 2013

So there ya have it....a parade of seasons on my beloved hearth.

Now I shall tell you how I got that painted effect. Ready?

First things first. Paint Colors.

White: Valspar's Woodlawn Lace at Lowes. Which happened to be the color used on the paneling in that room as well as my kitchen cabinets and all the trim throughout the house.

Beige: Ralph Lauren's Canvas Natural at Home Depot. Which happened to be the color used in several other rooms in my house including the foyer/hall that led to this room. Unfortunately they no longer have the formula for this discontinued color in their computers. :(

1. Paint all the brick and grout with 2 coats of satin latex. Make sure the brick is completely covered. No, I didn't prime it.

Use a thick-ish roller for rough surfaces and an old brush (which will get pitched after this project is finished 'cause painting in between the bricks destroys it. Be prepared.)

2 Used a foam roller for smooth surfaces with the second color of satin latex.

Here's the tricky part: Load the roller, then roll OFF as much paint as you can. Then begin GENTLY and LIGHTLY rolling the bricks. Barely touch the surface of the brick. My brick was highly textured, so the paint come off heavy in some places, lighter in others, not at all in some areas. I rarely went over a spot twice. For corners or areas the roller couldn't reach, I just used a brush to try to match the uneven, random way the paint was laid on with the roller. Here's a close up:

If your brick is more flat and even, you can try pulling sections of foam off your roller so only the raised parts will paint the brick. Or try looking for the rollers for faux finishing. The key is use a LIGHT hand and don't go over any areas more than once unless you absolutely have to.

Here's another shot of last Christmas' mantel where I fiddled with the picture so you can get a better look at the random paint pattern:

It really wasn't hard, and when I goofed and laid on too much in one spot, I just waited for it to dry, repainted with the first white color, let that dry and gave it another shot with the second color. And I only needed to do that in 2 areas.