Mantle DIY

 Hello friends! 

Today I wanted to share the DIY mantle I made for my bedroom as part of the renovation projects. I bought this mirror at the beginning of the year at offer-up because the shape was perfect and the price couldn't be beat at $10

it had a little minor damage seen below which really was nothing to worry about

so after removing the mirror, cutting the bottom, adding some wood for elevation and some pretty trim... check it out

and some close ups...

added wood glue to some parts for added reinforcement and of course lots of wood filling, here are the products used

post fillers and sanding and ready to prime

now, I saw a mantle tutorial from Tony Marianna on Instagram where her husband did a wonderful piece that looked super antique, and following his recommendations the next steps.

He used this product to prime, I bought the spray because the smell of this product I just can't stand. 

post prime, as you can see not an even job, ran out of the spray, but no worries

now an important part of his tutorial was the use of this product to help create the "chippy" effect and must admit had fun working with it. 

I put it on thick and here is the effect

now, after it dried I scraped a bit with a spatula and began the paint layers. I did chalk white, chalk gray seen below

then I did two coats of glossy white. Next using the spatula's edge tip I scratched, chipped and distressed the piece which now showed some of the base wood, and gray. Following the tutorial, I placed some dirt from my garden on a rag soaked with water and rub and wiped to desired effect. Once happy with the distress I sealed it with Dixie Belle's Clear Satin 

and here's the finished result 

sorry for the low quality photos, poor natural light because it was late afternoon and indoors, but I absolutely love how it came out. I have attached hooks on the back to secure it to the wall and then will have a removable piece of wood to change up the bottom center of the mantle as I please. Next time you see this beauty will be when the master bedroom is finished. Now who likes the mantle??