Ava's Bedroom: Exposing Brick Chimeny

When we purchased our home 3 years ago, we knew that there used to be two wood burning stoves that had been removed and covered up. We didn't know exactly what that meant but after watching shows like Fixer Upper and Rehab Addict, it stirred up some curiosity that there just might be brick behind some of our walls. We peeked into a ceiling entrance near my daughters bedroom and saw a brick fireplace running up through the attic! I was so excited to see this and of course couldn't wait to expose it. I did some research and found this great tutorial on eHow Home Blog on How To Remove Plaster From A Brick Chimney. 

After reading through their process and I ran upstairs and tested a few spots to make sure brick was there and find out how deep it was under the plaster. Roughly 1/2" in on each side I uncovered beautiful, historic to our home brick! 

This weekend we plan to continue to expose the brick as well as add a white wood planked wall on the the wall which will feature my daughters bed.

 Thanks for reading and make sure to check back next week for an update! 

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Pine Cone Peonies

While at the park this past weekend my oldest daughter, Ava, found a handful of pine cones and decided to bring them home and use them for a craft. She is always finding things and holding on to "trash" because she has ideas on ways to reuse them.
After a small  asthma situation, she stayed home from school today and was able to spend some quality time with me. During nap time she reminded me of her desire to do something with the pine cones she had collected and we quickly (and quietly) gathered the pine cones and some paint, paint brushes, glitter, you name it, and got to brainstorming!
Now I am not much of a painter because my hands tend to shake but I had and idea and thought I'd give it a whirl!

What you will need:
White Paper
Paint Brush
Paint
Paint Tray or Paper Plate
Glass Of Water For Rinsing Your Brush
Paper Towel
And A Pine Cone

I started off by mixing up some red and white paint on my paint tray until I got a shade of pink I liked. Then I took a paint brush and applied a  generous amount of the pink paint to the bottom of the pine cone.

Press the flower down gently on the paper and roll in a clockwise motion. I did this 2 times with 2 different shades of pink to add demension. Paint on some leaves and/or stem, and that's it!

 Thanks for reading! I love to hear your feedback, so don't be shy!