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Ideas For DIY

An 8 bit fireplace and it’s DIY!

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Zelda-Fireplace

This might need a little bit of explaining.

The Legend Of Zelda is an action-adventure video game first made in Japan but popular worldwide with teens and kids (and some discerning adults).

Kat from OurNerdHome – decided to make a fake fire for her fireplace using, guess what – paint chips.

We have already had a big discussion on this blog about “stealing” paint chips – whether in fact, taking those paint chips is stealing or not, so to see her use these paint chips in something so creative is just awe inspiring.

This pretend fire will be a great hit if your kids already follow this game.

What do you think everyone? Great idea, right?

Get the details on how she made this here: 8 bit fireplace.

Comments

  1. Thank you so much for posting our fireplace, Vikram! We actually had all the paint chips on hand (which was part of the inspiration for the fire – we had a ton of red paint chips and didn’t want to throw them away!).

    We <3 CraftGossip!

  2. I wrestle with the paint chip issue, too. I never felt all that guilty taking them when I was really choosing paint. I once offered to return a swatch once my color was mixed, and the clerk told me I should keep it for reference if I ever needed more of that color. Good point. It’s obviously an expense for both paint companies and retailers. Then again, you’d think with the immense increase in popularity of DIY blogs that the paint companies would be selling loads more paint. Maybe they’re happy there’s an increased interest in paint and hope that a percentage of crafters drawn into the paint department by free paint chips might feel inspired to actually buy paint. I’m sure no store or company wants to be the first to stop giving out free paint chips. I admit I take them occasionally for fun, with no real intention of buying those paint colors. Then again, I’ve done my share of painting over the years, and it ain’t cheap, is it?

Have you read?

Garage Door Halloween Decorations

This Garage Door Halloween Decoration project is such a fun way to make a big Halloween statement without needing to decorate the whole yard. Instead of a small wreath or porch sign, this idea turns the entire garage door into a spooky silhouette scene, complete with witches, pumpkins, trees, cats, and creepy Halloween shapes.

I really like this one because it has huge visual impact from the street. The black silhouettes against the pale garage door make the design easy to see, even from a distance, and it gives the whole house that haunted Halloween feel without being too gory or scary. It is perfect for families who want something dramatic but still fun for trick-or-treaters.

This is also a great project if you enjoy cutting your own shapes from cardboard, poster board, foam board, or lightweight plastic sheets. You could keep the design simple with just bats and pumpkins, or go all out with witches, trees, ghosts, black cats, and cauldrons. Add a few outdoor spotlights or battery lights nearby and it would look amazing at night.

What makes this project especially clever is that the garage door becomes the backdrop, so you do not need a lot of expensive supplies to fill a large space. It is bold, budget-friendly, and very customizable.