DIY – Stacked Log Effect

I’ve been seeing this stacked log fireplace insert all over Instagram and I love it. Having the television over the fireplace is difficult for decorating and also results in two black boxes that take up most of the fireplace. So this is the perfect solution for me! I was all on board for buying one of these on Etsy, but  $200 seemed ridiculous. I managed to make my own for around $75!

One thing you should know about me is that I’m all for the quick, easy, simple DIYs. If it requires more than 5 steps, odds are I’m not going to accomplish it. Luckily, this DIY is crazy easy and requires no experience or skill whatsoever!

Materials:

Wood Slices: I used wood slices from Hobby Lobby but you can also find them on Amazon for 1/3 of the price! I also found some lighter colored wood here. If yo go with the packed from Hobby Lobby then I used 8 bags for a 36×28 fireplace.

Black Foam Board: I used the same foam boards that I’ve used on a million school projects. I bought mine at Michaels but you can also find them at Amazon, and any craft store! Make sure to get the foam board and not just regular poster board, the wood slices are heavy so it needs to be sturdy.

Elmer’s Liquid Glue: Typically I always use hot glue but for this project I decided to try a cheaper version and so far it’s worked out great! Elmer’s Glue is maybe $0.95 a bottle and I used 2 bottles so it’s a lot cheaper than hot glue. I bought mine at Walmart and Amazon.

Box Cutter: Don’t worry, you won’t be cutting the wood slices, just the foam board. This is my favorite exacto knife/ box cutter from Amazon.

Tape Measurer

Step 1:

Measure your fireplace and cut the black foam board to the exact dimensions of your fireplace. My only tip for this step is to not try to cut through the foam board, that’s an easy way to tear up your floors and your knife. Instead cut about halfway through the board, then crease it and cut through the back side.

Step 2: 

Lay out your wood slices on the newly cut foam board. This surprisingly took less skill than I thought it would. I didn’t have a plan going into this step, I just went for it and started laying pieces down. One trick I did learn was to scatter out the larger pieces first then work around them with the smaller pieces.

Step 3: 

Once you have all your wood pieces laid out, take a step back and look at it from far away. If anything doesn’t look quite right, make adjustments. For example: if you have  section that has too many small wood pieces and not enough big ones, adjust it. Or if you have too many large pieces clumped together, switch them out for the smaller ones. This step is all about what looks good to your eye.

Step 4:

Glue it all down. No tricks here, just put glue all over the backside of the wood slices and start laying them down. I made sure to let it dry overnight to make sure everything was dried.

Step 5:

Sit it up against the fireplace. I thought this step would be a little more difficult and require me to attach this to the fireplace, but mine is able to lean up against it with no problem.