Skip to main content

Scale in a Room - Mantle Makeover


So I am no professional anything but the other day I realized that the mantle over our wood stove was in a very sad state. The picture hung there had been changed over time and it was awkwardly to one side without any character. All of the nicknacks were the same size in a line and the extra remotes had landed there. Just not pretty or inspiring. So I had enough and go to work on a no cost, little effort mantle makeover. 
First I threw on a coat and slippers and went out under the deck to get the board my hubby had cut to size a few summers ago to frame the painting I did. It was supposed to be part of my present, but unfortunately the cutting had happened and nothing else so there they sat for a year and a half. I had to pry them off of the frozen ground and clean them up a little so this took a little longer than anticipated but I kept at it. After washing and we used L brackets to attach the boards around the canvas. See how the size of the painting now looks much more like it fits in the room? I also wrapped a glass vase in twine, added cool moss and pinecones and then put in the tall grass looking stuff from the dollar store that had previously been collecting dust in our bathroom. I also hung the smaller painting up a bit on the wood paneled wall to add some height. After moving some candles around and finding a new home for the remotes I wanted to find something for underneath the new framed painting. Luckily enough my hunter of a hubby had tons of antlers filling up the hutch. I am definitely not into all of that but I realized he is and I should just embrace it. So out came the antlers into a sculptural looking piece. I also took one of the wooden cake toppers from our wedding, painted it black and scuffed it up a bit with some sand paper. Now it is personalized, balanced and rustic, all for free!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Belated Christmas Pics

Because I didn't download any pictures for a while, and then it was after Christmas and things got wild for a while I kind of skipped over the actual holiday so several weeks late, here is how we spent our Christmas. I didn't get any pictures when we were over at Shane's family's house but we spent lots of time over there too.  All four kids in one picture together! Warner kind of blends into the tree skirt but his little baldish head stands out. Luckily the matching pajamas I bought for the boys last year still fit too.  Head lamps for spying on Santa. Opening presents was a daunting task for Lincoln. I think this was when he realized asking only for a "princess and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" wasn't the best of ideas. Don't worry he got plenty spoiled. The messy aftermath. Lincoln playing in his new tiny little kitchen. My brother and dad at our house. My mom and brother decorating a giant gingerbread...

Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

I've been tweaking this overnight sourdough cinnamon roll recipe over the last few months and I think it's finally, exactly, the way I like it. We love this for slow weekend mornings, to take to family and friends, or for special holiday get togethers. It's also the same recipe I use when making them to sell locally. I've been keeping it under wraps for no reason in particular but it's just too good not to share.  I don't have a reliable kitchen scale so this recipe uses good old fashion cups and goes a lot by the feeling of the dough. It will get messy but don't be discouraged if it doesn't turn out just right the first time. No matter the flop, these cinnamon rolls will never disappoint taste wise.  The PDF printable can be found here or you can keep reading.  Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls  The night before you want to make rolls: 8 Tablespoons cold butter, shredded (a whole stick) 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour  1/2 cup sourdou...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

We love chicken in our house because it is yummy, very versatile and somewhat affordable. It is also Shane's meat of choice for his "tone and sculpt" plan. (ok so I just love how special he is and really I am not making fun of him)  I generally try to find boneless, skinless chicken for less than $2 a pound. These days it is getting increasingly difficult, even looking into Zycon or Costco so when I found some for $2.30/lb I got all the had... two packages. I frozen one because Shane will BBQ that for lunches on the weekend. With the other package, which I think was about 3.5 pounds or 5/6 breasts, I was able to look on the monthly menu plan and figure out what chicken type dinners I had coming up and chop from there. Since the breasts are usually very thick I slice them in half, like a top and bottom part. Then I either chopped up into bite sized pieces or froze whole. For less than $9 in chicken I made four meals that will serve at least two adults and two children. ...