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Written by Dawn from Check it Out! with Dawn

When we moved into this house 6 months ago, I quickly realized that I had a fireplace to deal with. Not only was it a drab to look at, but it was a huge problem with the cat. Ollie liked to crawl inside and play and then come out with dirty paws and face, he is a white cat and it’s a fireplace, you can do the math! lol So I needed a cover for that hole!

In all my shopping trips over the last 6 months, I couldn’t find anything, that I was willing to pay for, that would completely cover the hole so I decided to make one. When my kids were babies, we lived in an apartment that had a fireplace and to keep them out of it, I made a panel that would fit in the hole, out of plywood. It was really pretty; I created it to look like doors, with knobs in the center, so that it looked like it opened. I don’t have a pic, they were lost in the fire, but I was so proud of it! Well since I needed something quick and didn’t have any plywood large enough to fit lying around, I used what I had…cardboard!

Can you believe that the fireplace panel above is made from a piece of cardboard? Well it is, and here is how I did it using these supplies:

1 large cardboard box
6 sheets coordinating 12 x12 scrapbook paper
Ribbon
Buttons
Mod Podge

Step 1: Cut your cardboard or plywood. Although mine is made from cardboard, I recommend using plywood. Because you can decorate both sides differently, it could be a permanent piece and with wood and mod podge, it would be durable and long lasting. Just think one side for the summer and one for the winter, cute!

Using a large box, I cut out a solid panel of cardboard. Because I am dealing with brick, I had to measure the hole, cut the cardboard and then trim so that it fit with a little to spare. You will be wrapping your paper/fabric around the edges so you need to allow for that.

Step 2: Choose your paper or fabric. Because Mod Podge is so great, this project can be done with paper or fabric. The fireplace is in the game room where my hubby spends time with his pool table, so I wanted to make it more on the manly side. I chose 6 coordinating sheets of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper that would give it a masculine look.

Step 3: Position paper. I drew a pencil line down the center of my board so my design would be centered and used that as a guide for laying down my sheets

Step 4: Apply Mod Podge. Apply mod podge to the board itself and then lay the paper on and smooth out the wrinkles. They make some really great tools to help with this and getting an even amount on helps as well. I personally am not picky about wrinkles, because it gives it a more rustic look to me, but you can smooth out the paper with a wide flat object if you want. I just folded the edges over and applied mod podge to the back as well to hold it all in place. Once you get your panels or designs in place, let them dry for a few hours.

Once it is dry then put on a full over coat of mod podge to seal it all in. I recommend using a wide brush for a large area and applying multiple coats, allowing it to dry in between.

Step 5: Embellish. Keeping it manly, I just added ribbon and buttons to complete it.

When I got all finished with my panel and put it in place, it fit perfectly and when I stood back to admire it, I realized it not only looked manly but it also looked very seasonal, so I can’t wait to decorate around it this holiday season.