Southern Scraps

I really wanted to create a winter white mantel after Christmas, but to be honest with you, my mantel remained bare for about three weeks after we finally got Christmas packed away. So instead, I incorporated some white pieces into my Valentine's mantel and used the shabby white cloth garland I made for my parents' fiftieth wedding reception as inspiration to create somewhat of a shabby chic look. I used a white birdcage with a pair of white birds inside. I left the white and gold bow on it- gold decor is growing on me now. I also placed some glitter heart picks from the Dollar Tree in a white thrift store vase. I'm also using the same red frame I used last year  during Valentine's and on last year's fall mantel. I love that I have a collection of things I can swap out season to season. On the other side I'm using my glitter heart mason jar and the punched heart specimen art I made three years ago when I first started decorating for Valentine's...

Hello and welcome to a tour of my Halloween mantel. We are a little behind but things are coming together nicely. I didn't really know how I wanted to decorate this year, so I just pulled out my stuff and started arranging. I have an assortment of things collected and made over the years and a couple of new very quick DIY projects displayed. This photo  shows some new things. I left the chevron panel from the fall mantel in place and added a "Beware" pennant banner cut with my Silhouette (pennants) and Slice (letters- Spookey Alley). I also covered the red books that were already there with Halloween scrapbook paper and labeled them with stickers to make some very quick DIY Halloween spell books. Here's a secret- the paper doesn't fully cover the backs of the books, but you can't tell because of the way they are arranged. Full shot of mantel:

I love the colors of fall and was excited to bring them into my home, but I wasn't quite ready to let go of summer. So just as I did with my porch and tablescape , I left some of my summer elements on the mantel and incorporated some fall. Here's the full shot of the mantel (along with the hideous tube TV and VCR, yes I said tube TV and V. C. R.  and we aren't that old or far behind on technology. We just don't watch TV.) Lets take a closer look at the lovely details: I left out one of the framed sea shells and homemade starfish and added some pumpkins. I made a chevron panel in orange to add a pop of color as a backdrop. My houndstooth duct tape pumpkin is making an appearance again. The panel and pumpkin will make an easy transition to Halloween. The other side features more pumpkins, seashells and some leaves on a frame . Below on the hearth are some white pumpkins and a scattering of leaves and shells. If you are interested in ma...

  I changed out my winter mantel to my summer decor (we skipped spring decor due to illness in the family) a few weeks ago. I kept some of the same things I had out for winter and just swapped out a few others. I'm using the same elements I've used for the past couple of years , just in different ways.  I also kept the succulents in place as they go well with summer and beach decor.   Here's an overview of the whole mantel and hearth.

  This year's mantel is full of skulls and skeletons. I was going for a "pottery barn" type look with the moss, the filled vases, the clear glass, and pedestals. I stacked candle holders (turned upside down) and a glass plate for the tiered holder you see below. I also made some potion bottles with an old grape juice bottle and an empty A1 steak sauce bottle. I downloaded and printed the labels from Crafty in Crosby and Centsational Girl . On the other side, there's a 3 foot skeleton and another filled vase and skull on a pedestal. All of my vases and candle holders came from the Dollar Tree. The spider candle holders are from a yard sale. A few closer looks: Oh, and these guys are just hanging out on the hearth.   Hope you have a great weekend. I'll be linking up here:     Think Pink Sundays * Under the Table and Dreaming * Sundae Scoop * Craftomaniac Monday * Make the Scene Monday * Make It Pretty Monday * Masterp...

I finally got my garland finished and hung on the mantel this past weekend, so now I can finally reveal the whole mantel to you. Every project seems to be done just a few minutes here and a few minutes there, so it takes me a while.

Hey there! I hope you've had a good week. Here is the mantel reveal I've been teasing you about all week. Here's the whole mantel and hearth. I used the jute and twine balls to fill some tall vases on each side. I also used my painted rattan balls from 2010. Moving to the top. On the left side I used my new subway art and a plate the hubby gave me for Christmas the very first year we dated. I've got another plate on the other side and a candle in a glass hurricane filled with pinto beans. Pinto beans were also used in  votives on each side and urns with flowers from another project balance each side. I've never really been happy with my non holiday mantel decor and the hubby says this is too busy, but I love it! At least its better than before. Don't forget to enter the giveaway from Firefly Myst . You'll have the chance to get some lovely jewelry. Linking up here: Think Pink Sundays * Keep It Simple Sun...

I decided to use turquoise blue and lime green this year in my holiday decor. I love the nontraditional combo. I did add white and touches of red and silver. Since this was a new look for me and I didn't own any pieces in this color scheme, my entire mantel is composed of new (frugal) purchases and diy projects. I'll be sharing details on the projects in the days to follow. Today let's just take a look:

Soon I'll be dressing my mantel for Christmas, but before I do, I wanted to share my fall decor. I didn't spend a lot of time or money on this because it's only up for a few weeks between Halloween and Christmas, but I've enjoyed in nonetheless. On one side I used my ribbon pumpkins and topiaries and pulled in some candles I normally use in other places of my home. On the other side I used candles, vases, and books I already had. I used a bag of pinto beans for the filler in the candles and picked up a wire pumpkin arrangement from Big Lots clearance. It's simple but suits me! Thanks for stopping by. Enter my Shabby Apple necklace giveaway HERE . I'll be linking up here: Think Pink Sundays * Keep It Simple Sunday * Under the Table and Dreaming * Sundae Scoop * Strut Your Stuff * Creative Bloggers Party and Hop * Craftomaniac Monday * Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up at TGC * Masterpiece Monday * Motivate Me Monday * Inspire ...