September Acres

I finished my fall mantel today.  I actually started it last week but it took awhile to get the inspiration since I am not ready to do Halloween yet so I wanted something that was fall-ish but not all witches and bats.  I am happy with how it turned out and plan to keep it like this until I'm ready to put up Halloween in mid-October. If you have read my blog for any time you know that our T.V. hangs over the fireplace.  I need to work my mantel decor around the T.V. to make sure that it is not blocked by anything (heaven forbid).  Since I finished the mantel today, the first Sunday of regular season NFL games, the T.V. has been on since early this morning making it a bit of a challenge to photograph my work.  These first two photos are an overview of what I did. And here are the closeups.  I did take a few pumpkins out of the Halloween bins to add a bit of fall.  I got the black and white harlequin pumpkin last year at Hobby L...

While my husband was out of town a while back I did some moving of furniture and other stuff in an effort to open things up in our house - specifically our bedroom on this mission.  I moved out a dresser and a love seat and moved my dresser to one of the open spots.  It's so nice to be able to move around better in this room.  When I was doing all of this I noticed that our mantel had become a hodge podge of all kinds of things.  All things I like and want to keep but didn't have a new home for.  I started here: With some editing I ended here: That waterfront print was in our room on a wall that housed the short dresser I moved into LM's room (are you still following me?)  When I moved my tall dresser to that wall, this print no longer worked there.  But I am loving it over the fireplace. I bought nothing new for this makeover.  I put away a lot and pulled a cute little frame out of the closet.  I love the transformation and...

Valentine's Day is around the corner.  Really, it is.  So I figured it was high time to show the mantel some love as it's been 'naked' since I took down Christmas.  The lovely mantel was decorated using things I already had.  That's the way I like it.  'Love' garland made using my Cricut a few years ago.  Another Cricut project framed in this romantic looking frame. The DIY mercury glass vase makes yet another appearance.  The silver branches look wintry to me and it is still winter so I figured they could stay out. I love using books, especially on the mantel.  I stacked some red ones here. My mom framed the little print on the right for me.  It fits in perfect here. Do you do alot (or any) Valentine decorating around your house? Linking up to the Valentine Linky Party Dear Lillie, Beth's Mantel Link Party & Sherry's Open House Party .

The lights are twinkling on my master bedroom mantel this year.  I wanted this to be simple, serene, relaxing.  And blue.  I like to incorporate my year 'round decor into my Christmas decor when I can - saves on the need for extra storage space - even for just a few weeks it's sometimes hard to find room to store some of the bigger things.  Plus, it's fun to give the everyday a different look. This bowl of shells gives the mantel a 'beachy' or coastal look which I love.  The blue vase on the right was a summer purchase this year. Another view of the shells and vase.  The little white stocking on the right is metal.  It's one of my favorite Christmas pieces. The little tree has the only pop of red on the mantel.  Shells lay around the tree like little gifts from the sea.  The greenery is faux but works nicely here. I was thrilled I could use the blue candle stick (below) here.  The big frame i...