Public Safety Announcement

My 18-year-old daughter just told me that if you are kidnapped you are supposed to pee or poop your pants!  Hahaha!  It does make sense but the way she said it just made me laugh!

Mantle/Fireplace Reveal. . .

Here is what my fireplace and mantle looked like before:

And, here is the gorgeous after:

This was exactly how I pictured it would turn out.

Funny thing, though, now I need new blinds,

need to rip out the carpet and I would

love to put in wide plank rustic wood

flooring, I need a couple of topiaries on either

side of the mantle, plus some more

awesome accessories to go along with

the new look, a couple of accent pillows  

made from vintage fabric to go in

my new-to-me chairs, and I 

could go on, and on, and on. . . but I won't

because you get me.

Don't forget my contest.  When I get 100+ followers,

I am giving away some amazing paint from

the Caromal Colours textured basecoat collection. 

Vintage Mantle

Our house was built in 2004.  Our kitchen cupboards are knotty alder as is our mantle.  I have developed a love affair with chippy, shabby white and I wanted my fireplace, the focus of my family room, to reflect my new love.  Here is what it looked like before:

It was very pretty, very earthy.

I painted the stone with Behr Ultra

Ultra White, and boy did it take

a long time!

Then I used Caromal Colours textured

basecoat in Peppercorn.  Because this is

simply the color I want showing through

when I sand, it was not crucial to

cover the entire mantle.

And, believe it or not, I don't have the final pic

on my camera and I need to wait until tomorrow

for better lighting to take a pic.

I know for some, painting beautiful wood like this is

a cardinal sin, but I wanted this fireplace

to reflect my style at this moment (which, of course,

will change again, and again, and again).