Monday, January 26, 2015

Valentine Touches At The Farm

It was pretty cold at the farm Saturday morning. There was a heavy frost - it looked like a light dusting of snow. (Hey, I'm in Texas. I take what I can get!)



Perfect weather for being inside and adding some Valentine touches to the farmhouse.

The first project was inspired by some canvas art I saw at Marshall's.


 I was going to use a small canvas I had but then I found this at Target in the dollar section:


Perfect! After lightly sanding it, I painted with ASCP in Old White (2 coats), lightly distressed the edges, lightly penciled in straight lines,  then using a metallic Sharpie, I wrote my saying on the heart ("I love u") over and over, letting the words run off the edges.


Another light sanding followed by clear then dark wax. I also pulled out my metal heart and some pretty faux roses to hang in front of the wood heart.


I placed them over the stained glass window on the fireplace mantel.





My second project was a burlap banner I've had cut out for a year. Heh. Better late than never, right? I pulled out my large letter stencils and white paint to spell out LOVE. Then I added red banners (also cut out last year) and using twine, I folded the edges over and glued the triangles of red then burlap over those to create my rustic with bling banner,

Hung it on the chalkboard wall, added my chalk lettering and stood back to admire it.


Hmmm, needs a little whimsy. Ah, there we go!




That's it for my Valentine touches. I'll probably leave the hearts on the mantel for awhile.

I'm going to be playing with the furniture arrangement in the living room. I took my other red chair up and it needs tweaking. It's a small living room and adding the chair definitely fills it up. My sister is coming for a visit and I'll enlist her help. :o) I'll share that soon!

Hope your week is going well.


God bless,
Cecilia

Linking up at these parties:
The Dedicated House Before And After Wednesday

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Fireplace Mantel

I'm back. The art show was a big success - we had a big turnout and everyone loved the artwork. It was lots of work but rewarding. I'm really thankful we could showcase all the incredible talent in my art class and give a big shoutout to our instructor, John and his art school. He is the best!
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Back at the farm, I had one of those light bulb moments...

You know, the kind that goes off and you're like, "Now why didn't I think if that before?" kind of moment.

My fireplace has been a challenge for me since day one...too much brick and a shelf set too high. I'm stuck with it for now so I've been trying to make the best of it. (I do have some ideas on how to tone it down but it's a work in progress).

How the mantel looked when we first bought our farm
Since that photo was taken, I did paint the trim white which is a big improvement.

I was reading about Suzan's Faux Fireplace, loving her vignette on top of it, when it hit - and no, it doesn't have to do with building a surround although that is on my list! I've wanted something unique to place on the shelf but finding something has been a challenge - it would have to be long and narrow.

That's when I remembered the stained glass window I found at a garage sale...


 It's been propped against the bedroom wall while I tried to figure out what to do with it...

I wonder...would it work?

Bingo!

Add some twinkle lights behind it and there you have it! A unique, one of a kind fireplace look.


Add a cozy fire and it's a winner!


It's getting there one small step at a time. Hm, maybe I should paint the shelf?


Springtime Projects 3: Have A Seat!

It might still be Spring, but here in Texas, things are starting to heat up and feel like Summer. I knew I needed to get the last of my Spri...