Faux Fireplace

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For the past 9 years, I haven't been able to hang my stockings with care, they've been on the wall or on a couch or chair! (I didn't mean for that to rhyme). I was on the phone with my sister the other day, and she was telling me about a fireplace she had just made for a church Christmas party she was in charge of. I was so excited and couldn't wait to make my own, I knew my kids would have so much fun with it! I went onto Family Fun to get the instructions, this seriously couldn't get any easier. I roped my husband into helping me, it only took us a couple of hours, including the time it took for the paint to dry!

Supplies:
•4-18x18x16 cardboard boxes (home depot .96¢ each)
•2-28x20x5 cardboard boxes (I just snagged similar size boxes from the stoker man at WalMart)
•1-2 rolls of brown craft paper (walmart for $3 and change)
•packaging tape
•acrylic paint (brick red or mix of red, brown and cream)
•sponge
•red, yellow and black card stock (dollar store, .50¢ each)

Get 'er Done:
Step 1: Tape all 4 18x18 boxes up, leaving one flap open, like this:


Step 2: Flip the boxes on their sides and stack them to make the base of the fireplace and tape the sides and back seams together like this:


Step 3: roll out 130" of the craft paper and start sponge painting your bricks, we found if your sponge isn't too saturated, it gave it a more realistic look! The craft paper wasn't quite tall enough to cover my boxes, so I cut 4 or 5 strips that were 7" tall and taped them to the larger 130" strip before painting (tape goes on the back side, not sure how well the paint would stick to it). Hope that makes sense!


Step 4: Once the paint has dried, lay your paper over the boxes and secure them with packaging tape, your base is now done.

Step 5: I totally spaced taking pictures of this part, but it's similar to the first part, just assemble your two 28x20x5 boxes and tape them together so the dimensions are 56x20x5. Cover the top and sides with craft paper. I chose not to paint my mantle, but you can paint it with mixed black and white paint, using a rag to get a marble look, see Family Fun for the technique. Then just set your mantle on top of your bricks, put the black card stock down for the "fireplace floor" and cut out red and yellow flames if you want a fire!

My sweet, sweet husband helped me with the flames, he cut them out and then made a crown shape with them so we could put flameless candles in the middle! I love the way they look!

If you already have a fireplace, you could easily do this on a smaller scale for a child's room, or a play house! My kids love it!

Linking up @ Under The Table and Dreaming, C.R.A.F.T, Skip To My Lou, Making The World Cuter, It's All In My Head, Somewhat Simple Winter Holiday Link Party, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, The Girl Creative, Today's Creative Blog, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, Vintage Pollyanna, Sew Chatty Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell, My Backyard Eden, The Thrifty Home, Seven Thirty Three, Someday Crafts, Creations By Kara, Sew Much Ado, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff, Life As Lori, Fireflies and Jellybeans, House of Hepworths, Beyond The Picket Fence, Tales From Bloggeritaville

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