Mattie Pearl's House

I am an artist, traveler, and passionate "do-it-yourselfer"! This blog is a "diary" of some of my favorite projects, places and people!

[mattiepearlshouse]

Spencer and Parker's Wedding

On June 8th my daughter got hitched!  After marrying off 4 sons, this was a whole new ballgame!!  One full year of planning resulted in the perfect day.  Here are some of the highlights!  I will be posting some some of the fun projects that we did in future posts...

 the headtable

the sweetheart table with "The Nohes" hanging arrangement

  the beautiful custom dress and handmade shoe clips

  her dad's proudest moment

under the incredible oak tree at front porch farms outside of nashville

  the maids

the guys

our ever growing family...

the bride and her brothers

 the sweetest daddy daughter dance

the fireworks

the sparkler send off

(photo cred Austin Gros, wedding venue Front Porch Farms)

[mattiepearlshouse]

Front Door Update

I LOVE pinterest!!  I find things daily that get added to my "TO DO" list.  One of the things that I found, that I loved, was a front door design!  My front door was fine...but this door was fun and inviting and said "Come on in and visit"!!!  In fact, after I finished it, I caught a random person taking pictures of my door.  I went right out and said hi and she was quite embarrassed, but I shared with her all the details about where I got everything.  So because of my front door update....I met a new friend!!

Here is my old door...

I painted the door a pretty "pottery barn blue".  I also painted the ugly brass doorknob with some black metal paint.

but my favorite part of the door is the cool number that I ordered from one of my favorite websites....http://www.leenthegraphicsqueen.com/ This website has SO many cool graphic decals!! 

When I was finished, I still felt like it needed something to balance it out....

I was thinking about a wreath but I found this great fleur de lis at Hobby Lobby...just what it needed!!!  I painted my "wreath hanger" the same color as the door so it disappears...

The only downside to this update was that the blue did not go with any of my Autumn or Christmas decorations.  I decided to base my new seasonal decorations on silver....

Here is my Autumn porch decor... sterling silver spray paint on some $2 pumpkins did the trick!

For Christmas, I went with silver and wood tones...

[mattiepearlshouse]

Accessory Makeover

I found these AWESOME pottery barn candles and accessories that I love!

but I already had so many very pretty accessories, that I really could not justify buying all new accessories.  I decided to make my dated gold things look more like my beloved Pottery Barn accessories!

I took everything apart and gave it all a good cleaning with some tack cloth.  I sprayed everything an antique white.  Let it dry completely.  I used a medium grit sanding block to distress everything.  Rough things up in places where normal wear would happen over the years. 

SO simple and actually kind of fun!  Here are the final results!  I LOVE the way it turned out!

[mattiepearlshouse]

Engagement!!

My sweet daughter, Parker, got engaged on the fourth of July!!  Her fiancee' Spencer surprised her at his parent's lakehouse in Missouri!  We were lucky enough to be invited as part of her surprise!  We got to spend several days with his family and it was pure joy!!  My daughter is marrying into a wonderful family!   Now....for the details!!

Spencer proposed while on an "impromptu" boat ride!!  His brothers were hiding in the woods taking pictures and video and when she said YES they set off fireworks! 

Parker had no idea that her Dad and I had flown in from Michigan. We were waiting on the dock to congratulate them with Spencer's parents.

Such a great moment!!

In Fall, their beautiful engagement photos were shot by the talented Austin Gros at our families Lakehouse is Tennessee (are you sensing a lake theme?)!!  The  pictures were published on OnceWed.com...such an honor!!

http://www.oncewed.com/66572/wedding-blog/real-weddings/fall-lakeside-engagement/

here are a few of my favorites!!!  Austin is doing the wedding pix as well, I can't wait to see his magic!!!!!  You should check out his blog too http://www.austingrosblog.com/

The wedding is in June at an amazing venue just outside of Nashville. Front Porch Farms has become a celebrity favorite and we are so thrilled to be working with them!! If you live near Nashville and are looking for a wonderful venue check them out  http://frontporchfarmstn.com/   

[mattiepearlshouse]

Kids Chalkboard Table

One of my favorite things to do on a boring day is go to IKEA.  I am lucky enough to have one a few miles away!  I pride myself on being able to "get in and get out".  I know all of the shortcuts...and if you have ever gotten lost in IKEA you will appreciate my mad IKEA skills!!  On one of my IKEA excursions I made a great find!!  My daughter in law, Jessi,  had mentioned that she would love a table and chairs for my grandson Kingston.....now you KNOW that I was gonna have to find the perfect table and chairs for my little guy!!  I spotted a great little unfinished set for....get this.....$19.99!!!  How do those crazy swedes do it?

You could paint this any color that you like, but Jessi wanted it unfinished....and I aim to please!!!  I decided that I would make it chalkboard though.  Before I assembled it, I spray painted the wrong side of the table top with chalkboard paint.  I left the white side untouched, in case she decided that she wanted to change the top from the chalkboard to white board.  I then assembled it chalk board side up...

As you can see....it was a BIG hit!!!

[mattiepearlshouse]

Fireplace Renovation

Our fireplace was looking a little tired and dated!  On top of that I did not have enough room for the fourteen stockings our growing family now required!!  I decided to give my fireplace a little much needed facelift.

BEFORE-ugly brick, small mantle and dated brass insert...not making much of a statement!!

With my measurements in hand, I headed to Home Depot to see what my trim options would be.  Keep in mind that there are rules about the clearance of any combustible material and the fireplace opening.  Check with the specific rules in your area before attempting to do a surround. Here is some information that may be helpful: 

http://www.ehow.com/list_6781502_rules-fireplace-surrounds.html

I added mouldings and a larger shelf.  I attached new pieces to the exisiting mantle, building out from there.  I used moulding pieces to cover things that needed to be hidden like raw edges of the top shelf. I added a decorative medallion to the front.  I then caulked the whole mantle before priming and painting.

Since I am not a fan of brass accessories, I am slowly working all the brass out of my house.  I took out the whole black and brass insert out and took it apart.  The insert then got a good spraying of black paint with Rustoleum, High Heat spray paint. It is very important to use paint that can tolerate the heat of your fireplace. There are several brands on the market, but I love all of the Rustoleum products.

                                                                     This can be used to "spruce up" your faded gas grill too! 

I decided to white wash the brick faces.  I liked the way the grey grout looks, so I was careful not to get the white wash on it.  I used a tiny bit of the creamy white latex paint from the mantel with a good bit of water.  You can play around with the ratios and make it look exactly like you want it to look.  Less paint is usually "more".  I applied the wash with a rag and kept paper towels handy to blot it as I went.  It took a long time to do because I was avoiding the grout, but I think the effort was worth it! Avoiding the grout made it look natural and not painted.  If you prefer a painted look use less water and white wash the grout as well.

I added black accessories and a fresh coat of black paint to my gold mirror and I think it makes a much more dramatic statement then the old small oak mantle.  AND....it now easily holds ALL our stockings at Christmas!!!

[mattiepearlshouse]

Kingston's Christmas Tree

I made my sweet little grandson his very own Christmas tree for his room.  It was quick and easy to make and my precious Kingston loved it!!  Here is how I made it.  I cut the tree out of green felt.  You can make it any size that you like.  If it is large like this one, you will need to reinforce the back horizontally with paints sticks hot-glued to the back.  This will help it stay flat on the wall.  I found some battery operated led lights at Target, and used two strands to light the tree.  I cut small slits on the back side of the tree and poked each light through the slit.  Make sure to hot glue the each light on the back side to keep it in place.  I hot glued the battery packs to the wrong side at the bottom of the tree.  I made the ornaments out of felt.  You can make any size or shape ornaments that you like.  Kingston just loved "decorating" his tree with the ornaments that he can use over and over!!

[mattiepearlshouse]

Doorbell Cover

The culprit...

When I recently moved a grandfather clock that had been in our foyer for years, it left an unsightly doorbell exposed.  I considered trashing the doorbell, but found a better solution.  On a trip to Florida, at one of our favorite bar-b-que spots, I noticed a huge chalkboard in a very fancy frame.  I thought it might be a fun solution to my doorbell problem, plus I am a huge fan of chalkboard art... I headed off to Hobby Lobby (my go-to supplier) to find the perfect frame.  I had recently painted all of my foyer accessories "pottery barn white" (which I will share in a future post), so I knew that I wanted a white distressed frame.  I found the exact frame that I wanted in gold and sprayed it antique white and distressed it with a sanding block.  

The next step was to remove the doorbell cover and measure how far the doorbell extended from the wall.

The doorbell stuck out a few inches farther then what my frame would cover, so I had to build out the frame. 

I used inexpensive pine wood strips that were 1 1/2"x 1/2".  I cut them to the correct length. I used "L" brackets to attach the frame and wood glue to reinforce the hold.  I then caulked the outside seams and painted it all to match the frame.

Here is what it looks like from the side...

I hung this over the doorbell and continue to have a lot of fun with the chalkboard art!!!

A surprise bonus is the acoustics are great in the hollow of the frame, so my doorbell sounds even better!!!