The Magical, Mysterious Mantelpiece.

 Here, at last

is the faux fireplace

assembled in the 

Steampunk Study.

A blank space.

Nothing here but the

Ugly Wallpaper

and the 

Nasty Paint.

Then, the fireback.

Literally, a piece of drywall,

mounted with a Halloween skull

 propped against the wall.

I'm a Master Builder...

Next, the mantelpiece

and the 'cast iron' fireplace.

It can stand on its own,

but at this stage it's not

terribly stable.

The miraculous

faux fire insert.

The wooden bits are real wood

so it's not that fake.

The plastic looks like real plastic,

for instance.

Finally, the mantelshelf

made of two strips of drywall

glued together with Liquid Nail

(This is a real craftsman's job, boys and girls.)

and painted black.

It helps stabilise the whole structure,

which is good,

because otherwise the whole thing 

was going to tip over.

Hubby is thrilled with it!

I'll have to take another picture of it,

 in all its festive finery.

It's the first time I've had

a mantelpiece to decorate

for years!

For observant fans of 

The Guild'

yes, that is the sword from the

Highland Sextasy 

poster in the corner of the iphotos.

It was a gift.

Honest.

Get your own poster, here.

Image isn't mine.

Copyright

Greg Aronowitz.

Proceeds of any sales go to

Child's Play

charity