Here is what they became....

Good morning friends. Our guests are still asleep, so I thought I would use this time to say hello.

Just a disclaimer about this post, and others you see on this blog. I am neither a professional stylist, artist, gardener, nor photographer, and do not pretend that I come even close to being any of these! Heavens, I am not even a writer. Like so many of you out there, we all work within budgetary confinements just trying to make our homes the most that they can be. We love Pinterest and the ideas that we find by sharing boards with like-minded people, and I believe that the same holds true with blogs because so often they are about real people doing realistic and attainable things. Anything that you see on this blog has probably been done a million times before, but its just plain fun, isn't it?

As promised, here is what the old fireplace surround and hutch top became...

The mantle was given a light application of creamy white spray paint, as we wanted to retain the years' worth of built-up patina. Previously, it was white with some old sage green paint showing through it. By the way, the primitive bench beneath it was previously bright green, acquired last month at Vintage Village, and also spray-painted the same color as the shelf. (Sorry for the not-so-good picture. Our entry-way is kind of small and I couldn't get the shot without part of the kitchen pass-through showing on the left. I have plenty of work to do on my photography skills. New Year's Resolution perhaps?)

The hutch-top was left black, as purchased. Hubby built up the mantle by making it higher, wider, and deeper so that it could accommodate the hutch. Then he framed it in with moldings to match the fireplace. Of course, one thing led to another, so after he installed it we ended up painting that wall taupe. Do we wonder why it took so long to get the house decorated for Christmas?! Incidentally, this house initially had that TV niche thing over the fireplace. I am a bit of a traditionalist and do not particularly care for that look, so we had previously closed in that opening.





One of the things that I put on the hutch was the little peat pot girl made from a tutorial that I purchased from Dawn at The Feathered Nest. You can purchase her tutorials via her blog, which is shown on my sidebar under "Friends I Love to Visit". I must also thank Dawn for her wonderful introduction to my blog. If you have not yet visited her, please do, as she has probably one of the greatest blogs on earth!

And a few other random photos...





And as for collections! One of mine is snow-babies, which I put on the glassed-in shelving in the entertainment center. I mix them in with our cheapo collection of cut class, which I think looks kind of frosty. You can't tell in this picture, but when the lights in the center are on, it really looks pretty. What do you do with your collections?



Well, I hope that you have a great day. Thanks for visiting!