Makeover Monday... The Mantle

I love the idea of a "Metamorphosis Monday"... and have seen quite a few blogs participating in it. I'm jumping on the bandwagon... mostly because I love before and after pictures! Check out Between Naps on the Porch... Love her Metamorphosis Monday posts. Not to mention her adorable porch. When I grow up, I want a porch like hers. ;) haha I know, I know...keep dreaming.



I can't help but think of "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka when I hear of Metamorphosis Monday... And we all know the story: poor Gregor turns into a giant bug. I wish I could have thoughts of butterflies... but my mind sees a giant beetle bug that was once a young man. Hence, Makeover Monday! ;) Lets get started!

Over the Mantle

I am thankful to have a fireplace... not that I need it (EVER) in South Texas... but it is nice entertain the thought of having a warm fire on a cold winter night. However, what on earth do I hang above THIS mantle??

This picture was taken on "move-in" day... notice the mantle. It is really too high for a traditional mirror or picture... and I'm not the "fine-art-over-the-mantle" type of girl anyway.

After much contemplation and shopping around to find something that would "go" with our decor and compliment a higher mantle... we (husband and I) decided that we would make our own wall art! (Blame it on watching way too much HGTV).

We started by getting 9 stretched art canvases. Any square size will work for this... but we chose to go with 12 x 12.
You can find these at Hobby Lobby, JoAnns or Michaels... or online here for $2.91 per canvas.

Next, pick out fabric... upholstery type works well... but is not necessarily the only type you can use. We are fortunate to have decorated our living room with two different Waverly prints...as you can find most Waverly fabrics at JoAnns. We also wanted to have different textures... so we chose a red suede, a burlap and a tooled leather-looking fabric in addition to both Waverly prints.

Cut the fabric into squares large enough to fit around the canvases. Since the canvases are stretched over a wood frame... you can easily staple gun or push pin the fabric in place. We chose the push pin method as it is easier to adjust if the fabric needs to be smoothed tighter or in a different direction.


Then measure the fabric covered canvases across the wall and hang! Voila!

Couches with Waverly print slipcovers... which inspired the fabric covered canvases.

Nevermind those wagon wheels up there... haha. I haven't decided what is going ON the mantle just yet. ;)
The mantle is still very much a work in progress... but at least we have something hanging over it, while pulling from our existing color scheme and patterns. It was an inexpensive project that was also quick to assemble. What I love about the fabric over stretched canvases...are the unlimited options of creativity...and they are versatile enough to go just about anywhere in the home. :)

Hoped y'all enjoyed my very first Makeover Monday!