Christmas Mantel Redo

I have been looking at this brown boring fireplace for over a year now and thinking about decorating it for Christmas just didn't excite me in the least.

So out comes the paint, ladder and some wood, I'm gonna take this brown beast to white and sparkling!

Hmmm, she looks more presentable but I think we can do better. Plus the two different colors on the wall don't help either.

Here's a close up of the little basket applique I added.

I felt like the mantel was floating in mid air so I decided to add some columns to ground everything. So with the Mister's help we made two columns, added some  appliques and trim.

One painted, one to go.

I also wanted to add some additional wood below the curve, I like the curve but the mantel still looked a bit too skimpy. I made a pattern from paper then transfered it onto the wood. At this point just let me say, if you can get your hubby to jigsaw it for you, DON'T DO IT YOURSELF!! I made a terrible mess out of it, so take 2,  off to Lowe's for another piece of wood and HE did it this time around.

I also added a piece of molding at the top to beef it up a bit. 


 So one more look at the before.

And the after!

I think it looks so much better and it only cost me  $30 for the wood and I already had the appliques and the paint.  I think my Christmas decorations pop now don't you? Here's a closeup

The JOY letters were easy peasey, just pick up some curly letters from Hobby Lobby, spray paint them white, spray with Elmers glue spray and sprinkle with white sugar glitter. But you knew that didn't you? Just humor me, it's all I got today.


UPDATE: Here's how my fireplace looks today..................No more BLACK HOLE!

Linking to

and
 Power of Paint Party
Feathered Nest Friday Holiday Vignettes
Feature Yourself Friday
Beneath My Heart 'Best Diy Projects of December"