Fireplace Off the Page with Sharon

Hi everyone. Hope your crafting is keeping you busy in this "silly season"

Today I am sharing with you an MDF project which is a "fireplace".
I have created a wee fireplace assemblage, which I have decorated to become part of my Christmas decoration collection.

Step One
Using a super heavy gesso, coat the fireplace surround. I used it reasonably thickly, and did a couple of coats, as I want this to be the "mortar" of my brickwork

Step Two

Using Coarse pumice gel or Coarse sand gel ( you can make your own with 3D gel medium and very dry clean sand added to it ) Add either brown ink to the pumice gel and mix together to get a uniform colour. I didn't have brown, so I mixed green and red together to get a good dark brown colour. 

 

Step Three
Using a palette knife, spread a layer of the brown gritty medium onto the surface of the fireplace surround. While this is still wet, scratch away this brown medium to reveal the white underneath. I used a skewer. You need to wipe the excess away very often. I chose to make my bricks very uneven in size and shape, to give it a more rustic feel. You could use a brick stencil and just wipe the texture medium through it if you like.

Step Four

On the back piece of the fireplace, I used this viva decor ferro medium. It gives a really good metallic look, and is textured, a little like the back of a fireplace. Spread all over with a palette knife

 
Step Five
Apply gold crackle medium to the other part of the fireplace surround. I used the viva decor croco colour and put it on reasonably thickly, then dried with the heat gun to encourage heavy cracks.  I put together all the pieces and I also painted the top mantle of the fireplace with this gold for a more festive feel. ( This also covered up the joins of the MDF)

Step Six

Paint all the other edges with more of the viva decor ferro medium. ( I find it just gives it a bit of texture, and the subtle sparkle is quite cool)
I then rolled up some brown bazill cardstock, very very tightly to create logs which I stacked in the fireplace. I found it is easier to spritz the cardstock and roll tightly, gluing the last inch or so, to get a tight roll. You can ink the ends of the logs to simulate the rings of the log.

Decorate with items of your choice. I have had these puffy stickers sitting in my stash for a "month of Sundays" and they were the perfect size to hang from the mantle piece on a thin piece of string. Of course you can stand wee items on the top of your fireplace to decorate it further! And wouldn't it make an awesome part of a miniature dolls house! I could see a whole house designed around this one piece!!

Thanks for looking.

Cheers
Sharon