The Bavarian Riding a Pirate Squirrel & Other Living Room Re-Dos

The problem with a painted brick fireplace is that every so often, you have to re-paint it.  I am a chronic re-painter, however, so its all good~*

I know painting brick is a controversial subject.  Trust me.  If you had seen the fireplace before I painted it, you would have advised me to do so post haste.  Our fireplace, like the rest of our beautiful house, was abused in the rental years.  Chipped & stained & beaten brick.  Not quaint aging or soft edges.  Busted and broken.  Sad.  The paint gave it new life.

We've decided to keep everything simple for the summer.  Summers here are hot & sticky.  We need cool colors & open spaces.  As I mentioned yesterday, I intend to slip cover the furniture to give it a lighter, vacation-y feel & we are painting the walls a lovely garnet shade {Valspar Fairmont Penthouse Garnet, to be precise}.  All of that is for posts to come however.

I have promised you a Bavarian on a pirate squirrel, and a Bavarian on a pirate squirrel you shall have.

I bought the poster for my hubs on Father's Day because...well, really because it is a Bavarian on a pirate squirrel and seriously who could pass that up?  Its from Fuzzy Ink, a new favorite of ours.  

Anyway.

I had a frame on hand, but it didn't match & I didn't have a mat.  So I improvised.  I painted the frame the same garnet as our walls are in the process of becoming.  For the backing, I used a matching mint-y lime-y flannel that I had in my scrap bag, applied to the frame back with a little spray adhesive.  You could use a poster board if you were feeling particularly adventurous.  And the rest was easy!

Told you.  A Bavarian riding a pirate squirrel. 

I decided to rest it against the brick instead of hanging it to give it a more relaxed feel. As for the rest of the the mantle, I'm leaving it basically bare-- adding only the billy button bottles I made a while back and a vintage cast iron humpty dumpty doorstop.

So many more projects on deck!  I can't wait to share everything we are creating with you!