Christmas Starburst

I have a really ugly 70's fireplace in my front room.  Can you picture it already just from that description? It is dark stone that climbs up the wall and dominates my badly furnished room.  It usually just sits there and is what it is supposed to be, most of the year. But at Christmas time it is a large dark eyesore. It doesn't even have a mantle, so no redeeming quality there.

                                       Also, there is no light in this room so any photo I take will be bad. 

Last year as I brought out my bright, happy, Christmas decor, that fireplace just sat there, darkening the room.  I tried to think of a way to brighten it. I hung chicken wire in a conical shape over all that stone ending about where a Mantle would. I wired a couple of gold painted branches to it, then filled it with snow flake decorations and sparkling picks. I was happy with it. Happy enough. But I can't really picture myself going to all the trouble again. 

Then I saw it. The perfect idea. In a post on one of my most favorite blogs Epbot.com http://www.epbot.com/2013/10/my-bedroom-redo-reveal.html  Seriously, Prepare yourselves for this awesome room.  (And this great blog that I will refer to often.)  

In the middle of this post there is this very cool starburst.

  Totally love this. They even include a how-to.

I was told to not make posts too long so tomorrow I will post my own steps, tricks and results. It's long.