Before and After - A chair

Good morning everyone !

Sorry about not having up IWLTW yesterday - the fewer posts have officially begun LOL

But I DO have a small makeover for you

Behind those shutter doors is the den - the doors have not been installed yet so it takes a little resourcefulness to get them to stand up ...............

As I struggled to get them in position and put the furniture against them, I hear a tapping on the other side of them

John says - in a very patient low voice - I need to go to the bathroom
Suzan says - Can't you wait a minute?  I just have to take a few photos
John says - in a very loud impatient voice -  NO I CAN'T - WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU  DOING LOCKING ME AND SODA BEHIND THE DOORS LIKE THIS?
Suzan says - Just one little minute?
John says - NO - I NEED TO GO.............NOW

So before the incredible Hulk smashed everything to smithereens - I moved the chair out of the way - and the stool and the trees and opened up ONE door - which should be plenty of space really - and watched him sidle out the door holding his stomach in.

John says - IT'S LIKE LIVING IN AN ASYLUM
John says - REALLY - ASK YOUR BLOGGERS IF THEY PUT THEIR HUSBANDS THROUGH THIS
John says - LEAVE IT OPEN - I'M GOING BACK IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
as Soda scampered past him - looking very relieved to have escaped.
I love it when he acts all aggressive and manly like.

It really is like an insane asylum here - Nurse Ratched at your service :)
But it's a loony bin for furniture painters so I'm ok living in it.

This is one of the chairs from the Dining Room set I recently purchased - kind of a test run..................

Nothing wrong with it at all if you love wood and even the fabric was nice really ( and impeccably clean )

But I had this piece of fabric on hand - and you know how it is...................

One thing leads to another and before you know it you have a chair covered in black and white buffalo check !

I'm in love with it - doesn't it look Parisen?  I HAVE to find a way to keep this set - and sell ours - no matter what the Incredible Hulk says.....................and if the truth be known he loves it - I just have to find a way to make him love it more than ours.

It would just be so perfect for the dining room - the colors blending with the kitchen and all

I have to work on him over the holidays !!!

John says -  It looks delicious

Which is a very weird way to describe a chair - but I think it means he loves it as much as Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding - which is immensely.  So I may just be half way there....................

Such little effort goes a long way in transforming a piece of furniture !
( it takes a lot more effort to change a human being's mind )

Have a wonderful day everyone
Much love,
Me


Looking for inspiration?
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DIY Faux Fireplace

Or 101 things to use fence planks for.......................

We have a ton of wood here because of all the renovations - and though some of it was bought for different projects - they didn't happen and so I decided:

Suzan says - Do you think we could build a faux fireplace for the bedroom?
John says - No - the room's small enough
Suzan says - How much room does a little fireplace take up?
John says - I KEEP telling you I'm NOT a damned carpenter -
Suzan says - We once made one for every room ( to cover radiators - they turned out brilliant - does anyone else remember past projects with sadness that they weren't blogging then? )
John says - That was different
Suzan says - We have all kinds of wood here - we'll make it a weekend project - c'mon - it'll be soooo nice.
John says - We already have 2 fireplaces in the house - we don't need 3

But he soon saw the error in his ways - when I explained at supper time that we'd already had breakfast and lunch and we didn't NEED a third meal.

WARNING !
We are not carpenters as John so eloquently put it -
This is a faux fire place for dummies - seriously - D.U.M.M.I.E.S.

Counter sunk holes?  Fuggedaboudit
Hidden screw holes?  Ya gotta be kiddin' me
Perfectly measured wood?  Overrated

Truly, a ten year old could make this one ( which is right around our skill level )

First we cut the 3 main pieces of wood ( make sure you have a WHITE furry blanket to work on that you later spill stain on................)

We simply attached the three pieces using brackets...................

Suzan stands over him and says - Please make sure you get the brackets straight
John says - Why?  What does it matter?
John says - Are you going to get dressed today?

Suzan says - Maybe - maybe not - these are my " work " pajamas
John says - I hate them
John says - Can you go blog somebody while I'm working?

I think they look very Christmas-y myself.
Okay - here's the 3 pieces bracketed together

At this point you could call it a day - do a little magic on it with moldings and such and just have a mantel you can attach directly to the wall  ( which was my original plan )

But I decided I wanted to box it in...............so there was actual depth to it -
Here comes the fence planks again ( you must be so sick of seeing fence plank projects by now - but I promise you they are no officially finished lol )

We cut out the niches to allow it to fit flush against the wall - the larger one for the baseboard - the smaller one for the quarter round

and then we attached it with carpenters glue and nails -

This is what it looks like from the back - pretty rudimentary to say the least

But when you turn it around, it's starting to look like a fireplace !!!

And so far it's been 2 steps -
Bracketing the 3 main pieces of wood together................
And attaching 4 fence planks to box it in.

Now we're ready to dress it up and at this point it becomes more a personal taste job - we put picture molding around the " legs " in 2 sections -
These hide the places where the fence and the planks of wood meet..................
There's also a thicker chunk inbetween the two....................
A fence plank was cut down to size and an applique applied to it in the center.
Again using carpenter glue and nails

Then I took at least 20 photos of the small Christmas tree plants I bought from Ikea -
Seriously - when I went to grab the photos for this post - they were right smack in the middle of this sequence - talk about a blogger with A.D.D. - I need to be medicated I think

Okay back to the fireplace -
Next I framed out the fence plank in the middle with the same picture molding - making it look more like a raised panel

and the same on the legs ( I can't think of what else to call the side pieces !!! )

And at this point it was ready to be stained or painted or bleached or whatever you prefer !

It's not completely finished yet - the footings on the bottom have been a source of a nightmare or 2 for us but they'll get done - as soon as we're speaking to each other again :)
Those medallions in the top part of the frame?  Not attached yet.
Oh and we haven't finished the mantel on top either - I have the wood - I just haven't painted it yet - so for now you get to see an almost finished faux fire place - because I've delayed this post long enough now !

I painted it with Paris Grey and the trim is done in a white wash of Pure White ( Annie Sloan Chalk Paint )
A very light hand was used - almost dry brushing it - to keep it looking old and antqiued

And here it is in the bedroom

With a third mantel to decorate for Christmas lol

And even if it's a DIY for Dummies - ( and it really is ) this dumb blonde is happy to be this far along in the project !

We had most of the supplies on hand - but even if you had to purchase the wood it would cost ( roughly )

Plank of wood - cut to size - 20.00
4 Fence planks - 12.00
Moldings - 10.00
Appliques - 10.00
Plank of wood for mantel - 10.00
Working alongside your better half and getting 2 days of the silent treatment because of mitered corners gone wrong?
PRICELESS !!!

And approximately 60.00 :)

Suzan says - I'd LOVE to make a small one for the guest room
Suzan says - John?
Suzan says - JOHN?
John says - Good-night Suz- anne....................

Update - To see how I created a faux marble mantel you can click HERE

Have a wonderful day everyone !
Much love,
Me

Looking for inspiration?
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A Trio of Trees! ( Guest Post )

Good morning everyone !!!

Danni from Silo Hill Farm has come by today to help a friend lol.
Most of you know her I think - 
Danni's taken a break from blogging for the last couple of months but will be back in earnest in the New Year - she does some pretty incredible crafts ( and is always bugging me to be a little more crafty - not happening - I simply can't compete ) 

Heeeerrrrrreeeee's Danni !

Hello and Happy Holidays to all of you wonderful fans of Suzan!  I am excited to be here doing a guest post for her today.  I've been in awe of Suzan and her blog for a looooong time.  I have no idea how she gets so much done and I wish I had her energy.  We both bought houses to renovate at about the same time last year and immediately I knew my blog was going to be put on a back burner because I am not the multi-tasker that she is.  Not even close! (Pretty sure I wouldn't have survived my reno without a few long distance calls to Suzan.) I'm not as musically inclined as she is either, but I do love music.  One of my favorite Christmas songs is "Oh Tannenbaum" and one of my goals is to learn to sing it in German.  (I did finally learn to sing one of my other favorites, "Ave Maria", which is in Latin, so who knows!)

So, in honor of one of that song, I made a trio of trees for a Christmas project this year. (I guess I should have said a trio of tannenbaums.)

I cannot deny that these were simple and each tree took under an hour to make.  I also cannot deny that the black one is my favorite.  I share Suzan's love of black and white and that little black tree found a perfect home in my new family room.

Now you might think that a black lace tree is a little racy for Christmas, but you know what I always say......

Be A Little Naughty With Your Nice

Good advice for all adults during the holiday season!  But I digress...

That naughty little black tree looks pretty nice on my chippy white armoire.

 The lace on that tree is the shimmeriest stuff.  I have no idea what it's called or what it's made of, but anything that sparkles without glitter is awesome in my book!  Check it out....

This was so easy to make.  I used a Styrofoam cone from the craft store and covered it with black felt.

Then I cut that pretty lace in graduated lengths and pinned it onto the cone with straight pins.

Really what could be simpler?  Probably the most fun was embellishing the top with some pretty beads.  For the base, I used a vintage looking candle holder that I had on hand.

Seriously, are those not the cutest elf candle holders?  They are wrought iron and are h-e-a-v-y.  

This ivory lace tree is made the same way.  

Because the cone was white, I didn't need to cover it with anything first.  I  love the pearly embellishments on the top along with the silk ivory cording.

Very simple and vintage-y and after all, the name of Suzan's blog is Simply Vintageous.  

This green felt tree was the first one I made, which of course led to the other two because I always think I can do better.

Although it was simple by design, it took a little longer because I had to cut out all of those felt circles, which I did while watching "Christmas In Connecticut".  (Thank you TiVo.)

I used a piece of washi tape around the base of the cone because that was the only part that would show.

From there it was just a matter of pinning the circles on with straight pins and attaching a bead and ribbon at the top.

So there you have it, my Trio of Trees.  Do you have a favorite?

I dearly love Christmas, so let me take just a moment to shamelessly promote a few of my other favorite Christmas projects and I'll end with my very favorite, which happens to be music related.

 

Christmas Floral Pitcher

Star Twig Wreath

Vintage Black and White Christmas Frame

There is no way I could end this post without something musical for Suzan.  This is by far one of my favorite and most viewed posts for the holiday season......

Deck the Halls Pallet Art

Thank you Suzan for being my friend and for letting me guest post here on your fabulous blog today!  Also thanks to all of your readers who took the time to read my post today.  I hope you'll visit my blog, Silo Hill Farm once in a while as I have several new projects to share at the beginning of the year and also promise to finish posting about my own renovation, which is getting some final touches now.                         

                                 Fa-la-la-la-la, la la la la!  

_________________________________________________________________________________

Oh Danni - I'll take that black tree for my kitchen, thank you very much !!!
And singing Ave Maria in LATIN?
I can't even sing 3 Blind Mice in Pig Latin.................
Your trees are amazing!
Those Elf candle holders are amazing too :)
Thank you Thank you Thank you

Have a wonderful day everyone
Big hugs,
Me...........