Gold & Silver Christmas Mantel

We are almost finished with the Christmas decorating around our house.  The girls LOVE having the tree up with lights and decorations.  My almost 3 year old came downstairs on Sunday morning to snuggle with me on the couch and said, "Oh, I LOVE you so much, Christmas tree!"  She can be quite expressive.

I finished putting together my mantel this morning and I'm happy with it.

Last week I saw a post on Kate's blog about a table she had refinished.  The table truly is lovely, but what caught my eye was the vignette on top.  She had beautifully mixed gold and silver decor and it was stunning.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I copied her a wee bit and like what we have now.

My 'tree' is a small tree that we cut down from our garden area.  Bradley cut it off for me; I spray painted it, and then he nailed it to a small piece of wood so that it would stand up straight in the container.

I adorned it with some gold and silver balls {the gold ones were purchased at JoAnn's last week, 60% off; silver ones were from last year}.  I bought those glittery trees at the end of the year clearance last year, I think for 90% off, and had forgotten about them until a few weeks ago.

The JOY blocks were a quick project this morning from some wooden blocks I found marked down at Lowe's.  A little bit of paint, some hot glue to make the letters, and some glitter to cover the glue made for an easy little bit of art.

I picked up a few floral picks at JoAnn's last week, also 60% off, and the glass globe is filled with ornaments we've had.  The gold ones were from Pier One, six years ago, and the silver ones are Dollar store finds from last year.

I'm not into changing out the picture over my mantel for the seasons, so it stays there year round.  The colors actually blend quite well this time around.

My stockings are not yet hung with care; they are still halfway finished, as they have been since last year.  It's on the list to do, though, so you'll be seeing an updated mantel picture whenever they get finished.

Linking this up to Kevin and Layla's mantel party today.  Head on over there and check out all the gorgeous mantels!

Oh, and my little helper who wanted to get in on her own photo-op insisted that I put a picture of her in this post.

More Christmas projects to come!

Simple Yellow Spring Mantel

My mantel has been a work in progress since I took my Valentine's Day decorations down, somewhere around the middle of March.  I haven't wanted to spend money on decorations for the mantel, mostly because my big projects right now are the girls' bedroom and the nursery.  However, the mantel was looking a bit sad, and seeing that it is now the second week of April, I decided to do something about it.  And, guess what?  It only cost me $1 to spruce up this spot!  Yes, my friends, you can decorate with minimal cost, just be creative {and read magazines for inspiration}.

I saw an idea in my  Better Homes & Gardens magazine, to cover books with spring colored paper to add some color in the decor.  This was a great idea for three reasons:  1) It seriously cost $1 for 5 pieces of paper at Michael's; 2) It took about 5 minutes to complete; 3) It looks pretty good.

A couple weeks ago I saw a tutorial on Kristin's blog for making epsom salt eggs.  I had attempted covering eggs with fabric and mod podge {that was a disaster}, and this idea seemed so much easier.  The girls were able to help and I love how they look.  The silver container was a Goodwill purchase awhile back, for $1, and I just added some spanish moss to make it sort of look like a nest.

After I finished covering the books I started walking around the house, opening cabinets, drawers, closets, trying to find whatever I could to make this whole thing come together.  I knew I had the bird {a Home Goods purchase from last summer}, and I wanted a vase of fresh flowers from the yard.  Upon opening my coat closet I found a moss covered 'W' I had made for the front door last year.  The hot temperatures had melted the glue I'd used to hang the ribbon on it, and I had never repaired it, so it has been sitting in my closet for months.  That, in addition to my covered books, vase of wildflowers, and bird, and I was done!

One of the best parts for me with this mantel is that come summer, if I want to, I only need to take off the eggs/nest and the bird, add something different, and I'll have a summer mantel.  I don't know how having 3 little ones is going to change my life, but I figure the simpler the better right now!

Have you done anything around your house to make it look like spring?

Valentine's Day Mantel {that Cost Me Nothing}

The world of blogging has opened up a whole new world for me, including being less practical in my approach to holidays.  My college dorm was never decorated for anything, besides Christmas {it's probably a good thing I dropped out of the Elementary Education program.  My classroom would have been very boring--no cool bulletin boards, room decorations....}, and I've never really found it necessary to decorate my home for each holiday.  However, the more I've read blogs and browsed magazines, I've discovered that there is nothing wrong with having a bit of fun on these holidays!  And, I don't have to go crazy with it, spending lots of money and taking a ton of time to create something fun.  With just a little bit of thought, some planning, and creativity, holidays can be more festive and I'm finding that I like it this way.

When Beth, from Home Stories A to Z, announced she was hosting a Valentine's Day Mantel party, I decided I would go for it!  However, I didn't want to go out and buy anything in order to make mine.  This project was completely put together from things I already had, just spruced up a bit.

I tried taking this wall hanging down, but I don't like moving art around for the holidays, so I opted to put it back up.  Plus, there is an outlet behind it, so finding something that was large enough to cover that up was difficult.  I don't mind that it's there.

I'll show you how I made these little 'trees' in another post.  Super easy, and super cheap!

I have had this frame sitting on our entryway table for months, for the purpose of keys, etc.  It was the perfect participant with a little DIY art {chalk writes really well on thick scrapbook paper}.

I found these buckets some time last year, in the dollar bins at Target.  They can serve countless purposes, but best when not used as clutter in your craft closet, as mine were!  I'll also show you how I made those fabric 'poofs' soon.

What better way to express love than by a picture of the love of my life with me.  This photo was taken at my sister's wedding and I love it!

photography at my sister's wedding by Colling Photography

And, one last glimpse of the whole thing.  

Linking to:

My Simple, {mostly} Natural, Fall Mantel

Decorating my mantel this fall took me forever!  I don't even know how many blog posts I've read about mantels, decorating pumpkins, creating the best look, etc., etc., etc.  Don't get me wrong, I loved reading through all of the creative ideas I found, but it left me feeling a bit overwhelmed and curious as to how I could get a mantel that I liked without spending a ton of money.

My first idea was to paint some Dollar store pumpkins with a crackle glaze finish.  This was an ultimate fail!  The pumpkins are not crackly in the least!  Thankfully I got all of those supplies on sale or with coupons, so now I have the paint and crackle to tackle another project down the road.  Does anyone have any tips on how to do this correctly?  I followed the instructions on the bottles.

Anyway, since that didn't pan out, I raided my cabinets and pantry for another idea.  When we moved into our last apartment, whoever had lived there previously left quite a few things behind.  Our rental company didn't want the stuff, so we were able to hang onto it.  Among some of the loot were 3 skinny vases.  I found them during this raid of the cabinets, along with several bags of pecans {in the shell} that I had purchased on sale at the beginning of September.  These would be the perfect natural look I was going for!  Throw in 3 small pumpkins from the grocery store, two white candles wrapped in jute, some sticks from the woods, and I had my fall mantel!

I love it!  It's simple, natural, easy, symmetrical {which I like} and doesn't detract from the colors already in my room.

What's on your fall mantel?