Dollhouse Miniature Let’s Decorate the Fireplace for Christmas

 

Watch the video here.

This week I thought it might be fun to decorate the fireplace we just finished making for the Christmas holiday season.

I did an image search online for real fireplaces decorated for the holidays and I found lots of inspiration. I took ideas from a couple of ones that stood out to me both because I thought they were pretty but also because I could create something similar in mini using some basic supplies.

We are starting by making a piece that looks like the fake snow batting stuff that is often used under Christmas decorations. For this I did debate with myself about what to use to get the effect I wanted. There were really three choices that tempted me. My first thought was to use fabric with a layer of aluminum foil on the back like we do when we make table clothes. The other idea that I felt had a lot of promise was to use some white felt, preferably the cheap kind that is thinner but I didn’t have any on hand to try out. So I went with my other idea which is the same white medium weight card-stock we use so often on the channel. I had it right on my work table, I know it will cut really well either with an electronic cutting machine or by hand and it is really easy to work with. So that is my material of choice today.

So that means I have another free pattern for you to download so you make the project. You can find the file here. In the download there are 3 files: a PDF for hand-cutting of the pieces, a PNG to use with your electronic cutting machine and a text file with handy hints and tips (and the sizing information) to use the PNG.

You are free to use the pattern as many times as you wish and even to sell the finished project. But, please don’t give away or sell my patterns. I spend a lot of time creating them and the only compensation I get is from people watching the videos and checking out the blog post. I really want to keep offering these for free so please if someone else wants to make one send them to the video and blog so they can get their own copy of the pattern.

I do want to make it clear that I designed this pattern to fit the fireplace we made on the channel recently. If you have a fireplace that is a different size you will need to do a bit of resizing. That should be simple since this is a fairly simple shape.

Once cut out the first step was to score the card-stock where we need it to fold to fit over the fireplace. The first score line is in line with where the tab that goes on the back of the fireplace meets the area that will cover the top of the fireplace. Then a second score line where the bend at the front edge of the mantle is.

Now I coated the fireplace with so Mod Podge. Any of the versions would work fine. You could also use a thin glue in its place.

Working quickly sprinkle on some glitter. The one I used was labeled as “crystal” then follow with some white flocking. Pat everything into the wet glue and allow to dry.

Since I wasn’t happy with the coverage of the flocking I opted to do a second layer of the flocking and glitter with more Mod Podge. This will need to dry also.

 

Now we can work on the greenery for the decoration. I looked through what I had on hand and tried to give you ideas for what you can use. I opted to use some of the Wired Pine I have on hand. It is made a lot like a chenille stem but is much coarser and looks like fake pine. You can also use clipping from the

Christmas floral picks that are sold at all the craft stores this time of year. You only need a piece long enough to line the back edge of the mantle. In the case of my fireplace this measures 3 ¾”long. You could combine two (or more) pieces to make the length for your fireplace.

Use a small brush to add spots of Mod Podge on the surface of the greenery piece you are using. You just want to brush and hit some areas. Then add some sprinklings of whatever you want to decorate yours with. I used some very coarse green glitter, some red micro-beads, and the same crystal glitter I have been using earlier. Pat the stuff into place to help it stick to the glue and let it dry completely.

 

Once all the Mod Podge that was used to glue the decorations onto the parts is dry we can bring this all together.

 

 

 

 

First re-fold the “snow” piece and use a small piece of regular “scotch” tape to hold the tab to the back of the fireplace.

 

 

Once you have the ‘snow” in place add a generous line of thick glue (like Tacky glue) to the back edge of the “snow” and add the greenery piece. Be sure that you have the “pretty” side of the greenery to the front. Be very careful to not get any glue on the fireplace itself, just on the snow topper. I did need to use some clamps to hold the piece down while the glue dried.

Now we can have fun and add any of our Christmas decorations to the topper and instantly the fireplace is ready for the holidays. I have a few suggestions using some of the items we’ve made in the past on the channel.

 

 

 

 

You could also add some candles or maybe mini Christmas cards, the possibilities are really endless. Look in your stash and see what will go on your fireplace for Christmas.

So sorry for rushing the end of the video, my video camera was not cooperating with me. The battery was almost dead and the charger would not work today at all. So I was in a race with the dying battery. I did win the race in the end and hopefully the charger will decide to behave so I can charge the camera for the next video.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.