"Shoot, let me get your help for just a sec..."

That is the anthem of a husband in the middle of a project that you didn't volunteer for. It's never for just a sec.

Kennedy and I did agree on a project for the weekend together, however. And that is to create a fireplace façade to cover our brownish-pink brick fireplace.

Look, it's a nice fireplace, but it just isn't doin' it for us. Plus, we believe the mantle is ill-fitted and ill-placed. 

So let's just re-do the whole thing, right?!?! Progress pictures to follow. In the mean-time, let me share with you a completed project!

Here are Elvis & Cece, my little dog Valentines, sitting atop a brand new dog bed!

I made it! I found the fabric at Wal-mart, and the entire project totaled under $5.00 (including fabric & stuffing from old pillows.) It came out beautifully, and the dogs loved it.

Unfortunately, the other night, Cece ripped it up. I don't just mean she ripped the seams apart. I mean, she shredded it. So, I'll have to start anew. Hey, it was only $3.50, right?

This is getting boring. Let me show you how I made this:

This project is yet another thing that was under $5.00. It cost me about $4.75, if I were to guess.

Let's delve.

I started with this:

This is insulating foam-core from our recent work-out room renovation. You might have this lying around your house. But if you don't, you can find it at Home Depot or Lowe's. I don't know how much it costs per sheet, but it's cheap. REAL cheap.

Then I went and got these:

This is 12x12 scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby (aka heaven).

I found 9 that I liked, because I like square arrangements. You can find as many or as few as you'd like. Each sheet ran about 60 cents, except for 4 of them, which were on clearance for 12 cents. Score!

Then I took a sharp knife and a metal ruler and got to cutting that foam-core down to 12x12 pieces. This was tough. I recommend having a practice piece so you can get a straight cut. It tends to shred on the edges, which doesn't work for me. Maybe you want that look, in which case you would not use a metal ruler as a straight cutting edge, and you would not make several shallow cuts in the foam with a very sharp knife until a clean cut is made.

See how I did that? I just told you how I made straight cuts but telling you what NOT to do. It's called reverse psychology. Get used to it.

Ok, so NEXT!

 I took this black acrylic craft paint from my college roommate. Actually, she left a whole bag of paints in her closet when we moved, so I picked them up. This came in very handy for my next step. Sully, if you're looking for this paint, I have it, and you don't need it because you're too busy with med school.

So, obviously, I painted the edges of the foam. It went on easily, dried quickly, and shazam! The edges are now black. I believe this finishes the pieces off nicely.

(By the way, I stole this project idea from Stacy in South Dakota, hi Stacy! Stacy actually glued ribbon around the edges of hers which made it look REALLY nicely finished. They were beautiful. But I didn't want to buy ribbon because I'm lazy. So I painted.)

Finally, I glued the scrapbook paper to one side of the board and smoothed out the bubbles. Then I hung them on the wall, and viola! Cheap-ass art for my laundry room.

Now go! Go find your scrapbook paper and foam and make something of yourselves! I want to see your end results in exactly 16 hours or less.