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Monday, December 3, 2012

Jersey Strong

What a whirl wind few weeks we've had here in Jersey. 

Superstorm Sandy ripped though the area with a vengeance at the end of October.  Thankfully, I am not near the shore (I only lost power at my place) but seeing the photos of the devastation still breaks my heart.

So many people without homes.  So many lost so much.  I put together a donation drop off at our firehouse and was able to collect a lot of money and necessities for those in need.  It truly warmed my heart to be able to help so many of those that were affected.  

It isn't anywhere close to normal for a lot of people and won't be for quite some time.  I've donated money and time and will continue to do so until my help is no longer needed.

I had some downtime with my mom the other day and we decided to make some Salt Dough Ornaments.  I had ordered a NJ cookie cutter in hopes of making some cute ornaments.  I love the way they turned out and cannot decide if I should sell them or not. 



Excuse the dark photos, it was about 8pm by the time they were ready to hang, and the only available Christmas tree was the one outside on my parents porch.  (besides, I still have a crappy cell phone camera.  Santa, please bring me a nice camera for Christmas- please and Thank you.)


I love my NJ ornaments and plan on making some as gifts this year.   I love the Salt Dough in general.  It is  super easy to work with and the possibilities are endless. 

Cannot wait to get my hands into some other Christmas gift making shenanigans!


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving Mantel and Christmas Ornaments- Early or late?

Hey all.

I haven't been around much- sorry.  Things have been so hectic. I haven't had time to breathe.  Well, at least that is what is seems like.

When I get some more time, I will update on what I have been up to.

Fire department stuffs, Jersey Shore Restoring stuffs.  Fun Stuffs.

I finally had a day to myself this past Sunday and was able to take down my Halloween mantel.  Yes. I just took my Halloween decorations down on November 18th.

I never really decorated for Thanksgiving or Fall or Harvest-y stuff so this is what I was able to come up with.




Maybe next year it will better, and not so late being put up.


I was also excited to try my hand at some Salt Dough Ornaments. I kept the ingredients small since I just wanted to try them. The last thing I needed was some huge batch of glop I wasn't going to be able to use.

1c Flour (I used all purpose.  I can't imagine self rising would be a good choice for these)
1/2c Salt
1/2c Water

Mix together.  I used my hands- I don't have a fancy schmancy Kitchen Aid like a lot of pages said to use- my hands worked juuuust fine.

Roll it out and cut!  I used some cookie cutters I had (I can't believe I knew where they were!) and some other objects I found around the house to make imprints.  Use a straw to make the ornament hole.

Bake at 250* for 2 hours.  (I left mine in for about 2 hours and 10 minutes.)

Pre-baking!





I have not painted them yet-  Look for that new post soon. :)
I also ordered a few other cutters to make more fun ones! Cannot wait.

 It's a bit early for Christmas for me, but since I was late getting Turkey day decor up, it balances things out, right? ;)



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

CHARGE! DIY decorations from Charger plates

Hello October.  I'm about a week late with the Welcome.

Today may be the 10th, but I still got 21 more days to "Halloween it up"!

Remember the end of last month I posted what I felt to be a craft fail? You can see it here.

I had a handful of chargers left over.  This isn't counting the 50 my mom went back and bought that night!

THIS time I whipped out the Silhouette SD.  I also pulled out some of my vinyl.  I purchase my vinyl from Oh My Crafts.

Sorry I don't have photos of the actual process.  I was too excited to see the final outcome.

*Basically, design your image on the Silhouette program and send to the Silhouette.
*Peel away an unwanted vinyl so your actual design is left on the white "background".
*Use transfer paper (I just use clear contact paper...but make sure you stick it around other things first to get rid of the insane stickyness.  I stick it to my couch a few times or myself. What a sight!) Make sure it's clear, this way you can see the placement of your design easier.
*Peel your design up from the white backing (it should stick to the transfer paper)
*Press your transfer paper to the surface you wish your design to be. I use an old credit card to smooth out the design and make sure it really sticks.
*Peel up the transfer paper and wah-la! 





TA-DA!

Much better!

I have a few more Halloween ones to tackle before starting on Thanksgiving ones and Christmas ones.

*psst. Don't tell Halloween I cheated on it, but I made a Christmas charger last night too.*

:)

disclaimer: I am not compensated in any way shape or form from the suppliers listed in this post.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Craft semi-fail

I spent the day with my mom yesterday.  We decided to do some crafting!  Of course, we treked on over to Michaels.

I had every intention of making this DIY clay necklace from Henry Happened.

Naturally, I got sidetracked.

I came across colorful chargers on sale for $1.00.  I love things that are a dollar!  Even better? I had a 20% off coupon (including sale items!)  WOOT!

I grabbed 10 chargers. Some in brown, purple, silver and one in black (I would have bought more black but there was only 1 that wasn't broken or scuffed to shit)

I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.  Pair them up with some words and phrases from my Silhouette and I'll have a nice mantel piece or wall decoration!

I should have known this is where the project would take a turn for the worse.

At the register, I find out my coupon isn't valid.  (Ok, not TOO bad.)

My Silhouette was at my house, not my moms.  I am impatient.  Very impatient, so of course, I had to work on one right then and there.

I break out some posterboard to use as a stencil, some white paint, 3M adhesive spray and went to town.   (I started to take pictures of this step, deleted them when I got frustrated and almost threw the project across the street.)


That is some lovely adhesive residue.

Don't ask how long it took to come off.  You like the stenciling too?  Yeah, thought so.  Thank goodness it's a halloween platter- creepy is good in this case.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Once my fingertips were raw from rubbing the adhesive from the stencils off, I cleaned up the lettering a bit and sprayed it with some polycrylic to set the letters.

Holy epic fail, batman.  The can was spitting, not spraying right and it was just a mess.

Once the mess of Polycrylic dried (yes, there were more steps...I didn't give up!) I tried to sand it off.  You may laugh.  Needless to say, it didn't work. 

I glued some googly eyes to the middle which was part of the original plan.


The sanded polycrylic finish kind of ups the creep factor.... right? RIGHT?!



Sigh.

Mom suggested I paint a spider web on it, so I grabbed some gold glitter paint and freehanded one.

I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, so freehanding probably wasn't my best option.




Anyway.

Here is the completed mess in my mom's kitchen.  She really liked it so I let her have it.

I have 9 other chargers.  They WILL come out better than this one. I hope.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

A haunting mantel



It tires me just to write to this post, thinking of the month yet to come.

Halloween is my favorite holiday (echoooo echoooo. Pretty sure I mention that in every post)

It also means the busiest for me.  I have a full time job that I work M-F 8am-5pm.
The month of October, I work at a haunted attraction on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

I also got hired for a chain Halloween store M-Thurs evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings.

What?? I'm getting married....I need money. ;)

See why I'm already tired?




 I have been debating decorating my apartment for Halloween this year, and the fact that I even have to debate, makes me sad.

I have TONS of decorations in Storage.  I don't want to bring it out.  I really don't.  I won't be home at all to enjoy it.  I'd be setting up these decorations for what?  Not my Fiance either.  He has a full time job, a part time job and works the haunt with me as well.

Neither of us can enjoy it, so why put it up?  Let the saddness commence.

What I DID do however, was decorate my mantel with some things I had around the apartment..



Here's what you see!

The big candle holder on the left, a friend bought me on clearance for only $5  last year. (it's been in my closet, yes...all year. I was too lazy to bring it to storage)

I found the "cheesecloth" stuff at the Dollar Tree, along with the little skull candy dish.  Yes, the candy dish is empty and that makes me sad too.  (We don't get trick or treaters in our apartment complex.  Don't even ask how sad that makes me.)

I found the 2 brass candelabras at a yard sale.  $2 bucks! Those suckers are heavy! Fiance wants to scrap them to make some cash, but I refuse.  I'm debating on painting them.

The 4 paned mirror was a garbage find, spray painted black.  I had 2 of them.

Mr Bones, the skeleteon is a candle holder.  I ordered that in my last book party with Partylite.

Behind Mr. Bones is a dollar store plate.  Some verses from Poe's "Nevermore" are written on it in dry erase marker.  I love that little touch.  I can erase it whenever I want and change it up for the seasons!



I might move the big bulky luminary- something seems off with it.

Overall, I love my mantel considering it was mostly stuff laying around the house.

What do you think?


52 Mantels: Fall Mantel Link Party!






Monday, September 10, 2012

Halloween is everywhere...

I may have mentioned how much I love Halloween.  If I didn't mention it before- I'd be shocked. I love it. Adore it. Cherish it.

My favorite time of year! I love everything about it.  The crisp, cool breeze, crunchy, colorful leaves- it all screams Halloween to me.


I also may have mentioned that my Fiance works for the Department of Public Works.  In crappier terms, he works on a garbage truck.  This means he comes home dirty and stinky and and and....
He's become a great picker though! He will bring home some pretty useful things that he sees laying on the side of the road.  Somethings are brand-spankin' new!  It amazes me what people will just throw away!

The most recent find was a piece of art.  Now, I'm not a big, typical art fanatic.  I can't name artists by looking at a piece, I can't get down with the abstract stuff.  This piece.... it's hard to describe.  It's three dimensional.  It's definately eye catching... it's quite downright disturbing actually.


Yes, this was brought into our home.  He had plans to put it on our "Trash Mantel".

(He has nicknamed our fireplace, the "Trash Mantel"  Rightfully so.  The fireplace was free. You can see how I acquired it here.  Most things we use to decorate the mantel come from the trash or yard sales.  It's a fun way to decorate on a budget!)

Don't get me wrong. It would be the perfect Halloween decoration.  It just creeped me out. Gave me the heebee jeebees.

We decided to donate it to the haunt we work at for the month of October. 

We didn't even have the poor, creepy dude long enough to name him.   I'm not quite sure what I would have named him.  What would you have named him?  ;)



Here is no-name...chilling in the barn of his new home.  Maybe he can get some good scares.  Better at the barn than at my house!

What unusual things have you found for Halloween decorations?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Ouch- ouch-ouch

I'm here.
Sore.
Ouch.



I completed an 8K on Sunday in the beautiful Wildwoods of New Jersey.  Check out the beautiful, peaceful sunrise from the boardwalk.   I love sunrises.  For this moment, I was so calm.  Obviously, this was before race start. Me? calm? Haha!




 
  I'm not much of a runner, but I would love to be.  Runners always seem so carefree, so light and airy.  Not THIS runner.  If you can even call it that.  I jog a bit, walk a bit, jog a bit, walk a bit. I feel so uncoordinated compared to everyone else.

I try not to worry too much about time but I was happy with my finish time. One hour and eighteen minutes.  

and.... now I'm sore.  My thighs hate me, my calves hate me and my feet LOATHE me. 
I've been stretching, using a foam roller and Advil has become a close friend. 

My cousin did the race with me and a friend was actually crazy enough to complete the half marathon.   Well, it's not a full marathon so you know what they say.  She was only "Half Crazy".
Maybe if I can stay consistent with my training, I'll be only Half Crazy next year as well.


Despite the pains and soreness, I'm already trying to find another race to complete.  It was such a great feeling, passing the spectators- the volunteers and EVERYONE rooting you on.  It was such a great feeling to cross that finish line and hear my name announced! I breathed a sigh of relief, was handed my medal and proceeded to want to pass out, and yet I can't wait to do another one!

5 miles is pretty far when you think about it.   I completed 5 miles!


Go me!

Is anyone else out there a runner? I'd love to hear your motivational stories!


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I get to be a firefighter for a day!

Well not quite.
I always have wanted to be one though. 

My grandfather, my dad, plenty of past boyfriends and now my fiance were all/are firefighters.  I've grown up around it my whole life.

I get to do the next best thing, HERO RUSH.  Hero Rush is a fire fighter themed obstacle course.







According to their website, I have 3 days- 21 hours and 6 minutes! Eeep.

I've done 5k's before but in no way can I call myself a runner.

 I'm more excited for the fun obstacles, getting wet and getting dirty!

Hopefully by the end of the day I will have completed the race and be wearing this bad boy around my neck!


Hopefully I can get some photos!

Anyone ever do a race like this before?

I will post a race report when I get back.  I'm so nervous.


Monday, August 6, 2012

You are my sunshine...

♫ ☼ ♫ ☼ ♫

Yes, I'm singing. 



Be glad you can't hear me.

 I had a friend ask me to make her a sign for her baby, to put in her room.
Said friend lives all the way across the country. 
I've never shipped a sign before. 
Let alone a large sign. 

I was nervous. 

I still have no idea how to ship it...but I finally made the sign.
I stopped putting it off. 

Now that the sign is made, I HAVE to ship it.
I HAVE to figure it out.

She loves it though- which makes me happy.



Spreading the sunshine at these parties:

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Pinwheels!

I work at a Halloween haunt during the month of October.  It's usually pretty scary stuff.

Halloween doesn't HAVE to be scary, I appreciate the cutsey Halloween stuff too.  I'm a non-Halloween discriminator :)  (If that made ANY sense!)

I dug around my scrapbook paper looking for any kind of paper that I could use to be "Halloweeny".  It's been a while since I actually scrapbooked, I wasn't sure what hidden treasures I may have had.

I wish I was able to find a cute Halloween movie to watch while doing these.
Hocus-Pocus....Beetlejuice....Halloween High....

Yes, I watch Halloween High- Don't judge me.



I used the tutorial by Style Me Pretty 

It really is hard to keep your folds the same size! I had some wider than others, but all in all it seemed to work out. 
My poor little fingers started to hurt after a while.  I stopped after about 5 of them.
That doesn't mean I won't make more later, but 5 was my limit last night.

Also in my scrapbook goodies, I found these little orange and black buttons and Halloween themed squares.  I have TONS of them.  What a perfect craft to use them on.

I should have taken more photos, but I was not really prepared.  I was sitting on the couch with a storage bin lid on my lap as my "table", paper all over, square tiles all over and a hot glue gun that wasn't very steady on this bin lid.




I just need to add some thin dowel sticks and plop them in a Halloween themed planter, vase, pumpkin- something.

Real sticks might even look nifty! Give it a little creepy factor.

What do you think? Have you made pinwheels before?
I can see myself making these for just about every holiday.


Partying it up here:
Redoux Interiors
Creat Craft Love- Pomp Party
Simply Designing- Simply Link Party
52 Mantels Thursdays are YOUR days
Make it yourself Monday


Monday, July 30, 2012

1-2 Freddy's comin' for you-

Not really Freddie...maybe next time.

Ok. So I decided to try my hand at a Monster Mud reaper yesterday for the Halloween haunt I work at. My fiance is the supervisor of a trail this year and I'm helping him make some props.

Monster Mud = joint compound and paint. It's yucky. haha

Needless to say, I am not very happy with this one but he likes it, so I guess that is all that matters. I think using more "practical" materials would have been better, but since we use stuff for free that is laying around the farm we have to make do.

I started out by finding what looked like a coat rack of some sort sitting next to the barn, so I used that as my base structure, attached some PVC and was feeling real good at this point. I can vision it!


The chicken wire they had laying around the barn was all tangled and I was having a heck of a time trying to unravel it. Who knew chicken wire could get knotted. (Not I. I never worked with it before!)

My fiance decided to just plop the whole thing on the top and mold it to the structure. I don't have a photo of this since I was beyond ticked. haha.

Back to using the available materials, there was tons of coffee ground burlap bags laying around so instead of nice long pieces of flowy burlap, we had to piece them together. (All you craft blog/pinterest people- I cringed too using these burlap bags. They sell for a decent amount of money to crafters to make pillows and reupholster furniture and other neat crafty things with)


Looks like a walking burlap blob.

Next was the monster mud itself. I swear I got more on me than I did on the reaper.
This was definitely not a one person job, thankfully my sister and fiance were there to help.

Since they were burlap "pieces" it was hard to get them to stay in position- they were SO SO SO heavy with the monster mud on it.

We just slid the fake head in there to help mold the hood- it will come out when the hood dries.


 And there "it" is.

Whatever "it" may be.

I still want to accent it in black and grays and seal it. Add a bony hand coming out of its left arm.

Anyway, I do want to attempt another one for my own use, on a smaller, less "linebackeresque" scale.

Is anyone else thinking of Halloween yet?  :)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

twitch*scratch*twitch

I am going through withdrawls and losing followers interest I'm sure!

This not having internet at home thing sorta stinks. Ok, it really Stinks.

I'm attempting to blog from my android right on the Blogger site. I had this nice long post done via the app and it disappeared. I was not a happy camper.

I was on vacation for a bit. Trying to accept reality again. I swear I need vacations after my vacations. We went to Pittsburgh.

(It's not very easy to blog from my phone and quite annoying actually)

*fingers crossed that I can get pictures to load*

 Of course I can't. *sigh* I dislike blog posts without at least one photo, but I guess this will have to do till later. And yes, I realize this post was pretty pointless...I guess I just had to blog SOMETHING! :-)

If you read this nonsense and are still with me, THANK YOU! :)

Friday, June 29, 2012

T minus 8 hours-

Less than 8 hours until I am free.  Free! Well, for 2 weeks anyway.



Two weeks to unleash my craft bins that have been sitting quietly in the closet.




Two weeks to get paint splatters up, under and everywhere.



 
 



Two weeks to make a mess!

 

Then I have to clean it all up- so maybe I won't make a mess.

Trust me, there will be tons of laundry in the near future as well...and a mini trip to Pittsburgh. I've never been there so it should be fun.


I apologize if things are slow around here. I just downloaded Blogger to my Android.  Does anyone have any reviews on it?

I will update as much as I can, but in the meantime you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @the_sassy_penguin

Adios!


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

December the 25th- Hooray!

Anyone remember that song from Scrooge?
The 1970's version with Albert Finney?
No?
Didn't think so- not many people do. Oh, well you can see it here and have ear worm all day like me.

You're welcome! :)


Anyway, I have a Christmas in July event coming up and I figured I'd better get busy making some signs.

I came across a website to make your own subway art the other day and I'm in love.
It's called Wordle.  What are you waiting for? Head over and try it out!

Wait- not yet. Finish my post- leave me a comment on what you think of my sign and what kind of Christmas signs you'd like to see (or any sign for that matter) THEN you can go Wordle your heart out :)


It looked yellowed out thanks to the lovely lighting in my apartment, and the only post worthy pic of it was already instagramed last night. You can follow me @the_sassy_penguin

Till next time...

♫ Jingle bells....jingle bells....♫

Partying it up- Penguin style with these blogs:
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint party
Sisters of the Wild West 
Lil' Luna  
House of Hepworths #106

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Not gone and not forgotten!

Happy Tuesday all!

I realize my blog has been quite lonely lately. Wedding things and cleaning the house have taken over my life.  We also do not have internet at home at the moment.  We decided to cancel it to save money - and well....it kinda totally screwed my whole "I'm gonna start a blog" idea.

Quite a few things have gone on that I can't wait to blog about. I've had some great yard sale finds, Mr Fiance Penguin has had some great finds as well!

I've been making some signs still.  Here and there, sometimes.
Here is my most recent.



It's on my new mantel. :) So I guess you can say this is a sneak peek of the mantel decor. Well, it's only a sneak peak if I ever get around to posting about it.  Someone, make sure to remind me about this later.

I feel awful that I've neglected the blog but I have the first 2 weeks off of work in July. Hopefully I can get some painting done, try some new things and be able to post about them shortly thereafter.

I do tend to update my Facebook more than my blog lately so go ahead and give me "like"- stay up to date! 

So? What did I miss on my hiatus?

Linked with:
Sugar Bee Crafts


Friday, June 8, 2012

Instagram Friday!

I'm taking this idea from Nichelle over at Vintage Wanna Bee.  I hope she doesn't mind.  She has a fantastic blog so if you don't know who she is, head over and hang out! 

I love looking at her instagram weekly recaps!

I just downloaded instagram this week and I'm having so much fun with it already! (I know I know, I'm a bit behind in technology)

Follow me!  the_sassy_penguin 

Here is what I snapped this week.


Took a walk around the park after a sunshine rain.  It was beyond gorgeous and peaceful! I couldn't find a rainbow though. *sadface*



Some random photos here.  

Barns and buildings at the site I am getting married next year. So romantic!

Consumption sign from said park in photos above. What if I'm thirsty? Shucks.

Some drinks with friends...I don't even remember what it was, some fruity thingy from TGI Fridays.

Cuddle times with Fiance!

Thanks for sharing my week!

I have a busy Friday morning planned with my mom.  Going yard-sailing! Usually we hit up one if we pass them, or go to a flea market.  Not this Saturday.  We have planned out our route and have at least TEN on our list.  Woot! Hope to share some great finds on Monday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

*smooches*

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Making use of leftovers

I hate to throw things out...like vinyl.
It's not cheap so I try to use as much of it as possible.

Remember my Monogrammed Door Mat from the other day?

When making this, I only needed to use it as a stencil.  I now have a perfectly good 'A' to use elsewhere!

I ran to my pile of picture frames and grabbed a cheap-o 8x10 plastic one.  I dry brushed some earthy tones on it- greens, browns, whites... then lightly sanded it.

Searched endlessly through my piles of scrapbook paper for the right design.

I debated on putting the 'A' on the glass or the paper, and ultimately the 'A' on the paper won.

Once the 'A' had a new home and the frame was assembled, it was missing something.

It needed to be etched!!

I've never etched anything in my life- even though I had a small beginner kit for months.
I was finally ready to give a try.


It was also my first time trying the collage section of picmonkey.  I kinda like it :)

What projects have you made with "leftovers"? I'd love to see them!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Monogrammed Door Mat



I've seen a few of these around here and there in blogland and decided I must do one.

If you haven't realized from my incessant posting about it, I'm getting married next June.  Eek.  Officially less than a year.  I've decided to get a head start on decorating with my new last name :)

Here is the one that sparked my interest into making my own:


So awesome right?

And so I began.

What you need:
A rug.  -  My rug was probably one from the dollar store- if it wasn't it's pretty cheap.
I have two. One outside my apartment door, and one inside in front of my sliding glass door leading to my balcony. 
The balcony rug is the one I played with.

A Stencil of some sort-  I used my Silhouette SD to cut out my Monogram.  You can use vinyl or contact paper and an Xacto knife.  You do not need a cutting machine to make this.

Paint
Foam paint brush

That's it.

I took my vinyl letter and peeled away the letter and left the negative. 



Arrange your "Stencil" onto the rug.  I used transfer paper to ensure a smooth, well...transfer. haha.




Here comes the fun part.  I started out with a foam roller to apply my paint.  The roller soaked way more paint and was too wide of a surface area. I was wasting paint, covering the vinyl way more than I was the open space.


You may have to blot a few different coats in order to get the color saturation you want.
I think I blotted 3 times on this one.

Once you are done, peel back the vinyl.  I peel it while the paint was still wet.  I'm impatient like that.


You can see in this one that I slightly got some paint on the outside of the circle.  I just scratched it off with my nail.



I love it.  It adds so much to something so little.

Mr. Fiance Penguin loves it too.  He noticed it immediately when he got home.





Hmmm....

What else can I monogram?  


Do you love monograms as much as I do now?  What is your favorite monogrammed "thing"?


Partying with these cool blogs!
52 Mantels
House of Hepworths

Friday, June 1, 2012

Be vewy vewy quiet...

We're hunting mantels.

Fireplace mantels that is.

I, once again, blame pinterest for this insane disease.  I see something and I want it.
The plethora of gorgeous, mind blowing mantel decorations is never ending.

I even made a pinterest board just for mantels that you can see here.  So many options, right?

Take this Halloween mantel.  Um, Halloween is my favorite holiday.  Geez, I wish I had a mantel to decorate it like this.


Or how about this inviting Christmas mantel?  How warm and fuzzy does this make you feel?  Wow, I wish I had a mantel to decorate it like this.



I am in love with this Junk Mantel from Funky Junk Interiors, one of my favorite blogs to follow.  I love junk!  Golly, I wish I had a mantel to decorate like this.



Here is where Craigslist comes in handy.

I have my settings on my Craigslist app to alert me whenever mantels are for sale.

Only problem is they are so expensive!
$950?  Not in my lifetime
$700?  Yeah right.
Not even $150 was in my budget - *headdesk*

Months went by and still I couldn't find anything.

This is gonna be harder than I thought.  That empty bare wall in my living room is just gonna have to wait...

Or so I thought.


Ain't she a beaut??

I found her on Craigslist... It has glowing logs, a metal crate for the logs AND the fireplace screen!  *SQUEAL*

To make the situation better.  It was Free.  You read right...F-R-E-E!

Oh, but she's heavy. The woman who owned her first lived on the second floor apartment. IN MY COMPLEX.  How funny is that?  I had to go literally down the road for it.

Doooown the stairs. Ouch.

*I* live on a second floor apartment.

Uuuuup the stairs. Ouch.

Sit back and admire.  YESSS!



Immediately, I started grabbing some knick knacks off my entertainment center.  I didn't care what I grabbed, I just wanted to decorate it.


Ok. Ok. It's not much, it looks downright pitiful compared to the ones I showcased earlier.
Guess I have some learning to do.

Geez, wow, golly- I have a mantel to decorate now!

What is your favorite way to decorate your mantels?