Tag Archives: Mantel

Nov 18 2011
3 Comments
Autumn, Decorating, Green, Livingroom, Mantels

A Fall-ish Mantel

(Note:  I wrote an ENTIRE post that ended up NOT publishing…it only gave you the first 2 paragraphs…nice.  Here’s kind of what I wrote earlier.)

With Thanksgiving lit-erally right around the corner I suppose now is a better time than ever to show you some more autumn decorating from the casa.  Yesterday I shared with you our front porch for the fall and gave a lovely tutorial on how to make a yarn wreath.  Riveting, no?

And today I’m here to show you our fall-ish mantel.  You’ll find that the colors are a little more bright and cheerful than your typical fall mantel, but that’s how I roll…bright and cheerful and it goes with our home’s colors, which I love.

If you look closely you can see that I’ve hung our world maps on either side of the fireplace.  That’s where I’m pulling the yellow and blue vibe from for the mantel accessories.

Ooh, pretty!

You seriously can get this look with just a few glass jars and some sticks from your yard.  Seriously.

More items that I found by shopping our house and our yard.  Easy peasy!

And here’s the big picture…yay!

You can do this, friend, you totally can do this look.

Have you decorated your mantel for the fall yet?  One more week to go!

Bella grace to you,
Jen

 

 

 

 

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Jan 23 2011
8 Comments
Mantels, Valentine's Day

L.O.V.E. Decorating for Valentine’s Day – It doesn’t have to be pink, red & cupid to be lovely

My Romantic Mantel...Simple, Pure, Lovely

In an effort to create a mood of love for our home I designed this mantel vingette:  it’s understated, yet complex and the subtle notes toward love are throughout.  For example, the framed Christmas card with the couple walking through the snow together, carrying an evergreen…it brings thoughts of love.  (The funny thing is that my husband thought it was a picture of us at first.  But we’ve never dragged a Christmas tree together ANYWHERE, muchless in the snow, being that we live in Texas and all.  I thought it was sweet of him, though).

Sweet Couple Walking through the Snow

I kept the color palette white, blue and chocolate brown to flow with our home’s decor. 

Who says Valentine's Day has to be pink and red and cupid?

 

L.O.V.E.

Although these candles aren’t displayed together like this in the vingette, I wanted you to be able to read what the letters spell out.  These are simple glass votive holders that I put bronze rub-on letters from my scrapbook stash.  Simple craft.  Pretty outcome.

I also placed a grouping of candlesticks in the white pitcher, which is an idea I saw years ago in book about French decorating.

What are some other subtle ways you like to add a touch of L.O.V.E. to your home decor?  For more inspiration check out Beth’s Valentine’s Day Mantel Party or Tatertot & Jello’s Weekend Wrap-Up Party.

UndertheTableandDreaming

Happy Creating!
Jen

 

 

 

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Sep 08 2010
4 Comments
Autumn, Decorating, DIY, Home, Mantels

Get Your Autumn On

A few days ago the boys & I went on a drive to hunt down some (free) sunflowers & weeds to decorate our home, inside & out.  We were successful!  I also found $1 mums at Wal-mart while making a quick grocery run to add a touch of autumn to the outdoors in a cinch.

See that tree stump?  Yeah, that used to be a REALLY creepy tree.  It finally died, so we had to chop it down last year.  Trying to “pretty-up” a tree stump can be a daunting task.  Fortunately, I was able to find this adorable bicycle tree planter several months ago.  I love how unique it looks on the stump!

More gettin’ our autumn on…inside the house!

Welcome to our living room…decorated simply with few objects on the wall.  I like to let the room “breathe.”  I took the rug away for the summer, but with fall approaching it was time to cozy up the space a bit more. 

I found it on clearance at Pier 1 last year…don’t you love a good find?

To see the “Autumn Joy” garland in more detail, check out my tutorial from yesterday.  (I turned a Starbucks bag into this fab & thrifty autumn garland).

I put some sunflowers & weeds on the mantel, too!

Oh, and I put some weeds over here, too.  I still haven’t filled these frames with anything, but they’re okay with that; they know I have things to do like go flower-hunting in the woods.  Priorites, folks, priorities.

I told you I like to keep things simple.  But don’t worry, I will eventually put something in the frames…

For me, autumn says, “Cozy up and relax,” and that’s exactly what this coffee-table-turned-bench expresses perfectly.  Oh and this bench says, “Ditto.”

If you’re curious about what’s going on atop that dresser-turned-buffet then check out my recent back-to-school post.  Or just look at these cute pumpkins.  Ahhhhhhh!   So cute!

Are you gettin’ your autumn on?  Do you use the colors of fall or are you like me and stick with the cooler colors to flow with your home?  For more inspiration check out the lovely ladies linking to the Inspired Room , Craftaholics Anonymous & Domestically Speaking today…Thanks for stopping by.  Happy decorating:)

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Sep 07 2010
11 Comments
Autumn, Decorating, DIY, Green, Mantels, Upcycled Life

Autumn Joy: An Upcycled Starbucks Bag

Are there any other coffee lovers out there?  Holla!  (I’ve obviously had my first cup o’ joe already!).  This post is for all you Starbucks fans (and everyone else, too, really).  You see, last week when I picked up this “art” notebook at Starbucks for our son after a trip to Austin, TX, I was left with a handy-dandy Starbucks bag.  So, that coupled with this whole-Stashbusting September-thing Robin is doing at The T-shirt Diaries, I decided to make a little autumn magic and turn this super cool bag into an upcycled autumn garland.  (BTW Robin will be here on Thursday sharing her inspirational thoughts on upcycling…you won’t want to miss it!).

Autumn Joy Garland

For this project I used:

  • 1 Starbucks bag (you could also use any extra scrapbook paper, gift bag, etc.)
  • Vintage clip-on earrings (my great-grandmother’s)
  • 9 black matte chip boards (purchased this summer for $1 clearance)
  • 1 white ribbon (that came with son’s bedding packaging)
  • Ikea curtain clip-on rings (purchased this summer; also used on photo display)
  • mod podge; brush; hotglue gun; 1 canned good

Tutorial:

  • Cut bag open so that it lays flat

 (The reason I chose this bag was because of the cool philosophy printed on it, which I think fits perfectly with the idea of stashbusing & upcycling)

  • Using the canned good as a template, trace 9 circles on to the inside of the opened bag (the non-design side)
  • Cut out circles
  • Print out “Autumn Joy” (or whatever phrase you wish to use) and cut out the letters as well
  • Mod-Podge the letters onto the circles
  • Hotglue the finished circles onto the black chip board
  • Hang up ribbon onto your mantel
  • Place vintage clip-on earrings onto the ribbon, with Ikea clips in between each one; hang up your letters

Now sit back & enjoy your upcycled Starbucks bag creation!  Autumn Joy:)

For other great stash-busting ideas, check out:

 

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Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Linky Party

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Aug 23 2010
7 Comments
Decorating, Green, Mantels, Restyling

Loving Lemons & a Mantel Question

Y’all, I’m loving lemons right now & it almost feels wrong being that summer is coming to an end.  (At least according to the calendar it’s coming to an end.  Here in Texas it’s a whopping 103 degrees this afternoon).  Anywho, I wanted to show you my little lovin’ lemon display & ask you a mantel question.  First, here are the lovelies (fresh lemons + mason jars + tea light candles in vintage glass coasters):

So, here’s my mantel question:  Did you  notice the very empty picture frames (bought at Goodwill’s Bargain Barn for $1.50 each, yay!)?  Yeah, I saw them, too.  I put this display together a few days ago but haven’t decided what to put in the frames.  I could do fabric, which I love, but as you can see on another giant wall in our living room we’ve already got a big ole’ fabric colored thing. 

I don’t wanna do fabric in those frames.  Okay, so what’s your suggestion?  Leave me a comment (and a link if you have a visual for me to see).  Gracias amigas!

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