14 DAY TRIAL // With summer on the way, you probably won't be using your fireplace too much over the next five or six months, depending on where you live and how chilly your house gets once the fall months settle in. However, this means that the temporarily vacated hearth of your fireplace has just turned into a nice pretext for adding some nice decorations and extra scent to your living room. In other words, don't allow your fireplace to turn into a sad reminder of those long wonderful winter evenings spent by the fire, with a good book and a mug of mulled wine close at hand. Give your fireplace a summer makeover with a little work and a lot of imagination. If you have small kids, you can easily turn decorating your hearth into a fun way to enjoy an afternoon with your little ones.
The first thing to do is buy a rather large decorative container - a metal or wicker basket or even an aluminum bucket. The idea is to be able to use the container as firewood holder the following winter. Then start thinking of things to fill the container you chose - let's say you opted for a wicker basket. One simple option would be to visit your local crafts store and stock on aromatic herbs and pine cones that you could simply arrange inside the basket. Add evergreens and a large ribbon for extra color. You could also buy several oversize candles to keep next to the basket for purely decorative purposes.
Another fun way to fill your newly purchased hearth wicker basket would be to make use of homemade scented pine cones. For this, you need about two dozen 2 x 2-inch pine cones, 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) frankincense powder, the same amount of gold glitter and 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) myrrh powder, as well as some white crafts glue. Lay the cones on an old cookie sheet and place in the oven heated at 300 degree F for one hour. Mix the frankincense, myrrh, and glitter together, dab the pine cone petals and the bottom of cone with glue and then roll the cone in the mixture of powder and glitter. Set aside to dry and place them in your hearth basket. They will add a nice scent and a touch of chic to your room at all times - plus they're easy and fun to make. Enjoy!