My Fall Mantel...Finally

Hopefully you haven't been waiting on the edge of your seat for this post.  Life with twins is B-U-S-Y and I cannot promise how often or when I will be posting ever again.  Ha.  If you are interested, you can sign up to receive my posts (when they go up) via email.  Just type your email address in the right sidebar under "Subscribe to this Blog" and hit submit!

So....our fall mantel.  I kept it simple and used mostly all things that I already owned.

I placed some cotton that I got from work last year in a small thrifted brass vase.

The white pumpkins are plastic ones that I spray painted (also from last year).

The gold candlestick is last season Target and the felt leaf garland is another project from fall 2013 (excuse the awful pics from back then).  

I just love the colors in this print.  And at $1.50, it's hard to beat.  I printed it on some card stock and popped it into a frame.

The bird in hand print is a postcard that Clare Elsaesser included in one of my orders from her Etsy shop.  

Happy Fall, guys!

Orange and Gold Fall Mantel

Here is what I came up with for our fall mantel this year.

I removed everything from our spring/summer mantel and started with a clean slate.  The base piece is a mirror that I found at a local furniture resale store months ago.  

I decided to add Fred the moose back into the mix and I gave him a colorful scarf so his neck will stay warm.

I filled up the mantel space with my brass candlesticks from Target holding orange tapers, a gold pear (also from Target), my geometric gold frame with the chalkboard (the frame is yet another Target item), some DIY feather art, and a brass bowl with pinecones.

I've been wrestling with what (if anything) to draw on the chalkboard.  Inspiration just hasn't hit yet.  I'm open to suggestions.

For the feather art, I started with a blank canvas and used some liquid gold leaf to add a chevron pattern.  After enlarging this template (from Lia at liagriffith.com) on my printer/copier, I used it to trace and cut out a feather from some amazing rust colored suede that I found at JoAnn's.

I attached my suede feather with some spray adhesive and voila.  

For the banner, I simply printed my letters on white card stock in the font Mayonaise.  A couple of holes and some orange yarn was all it took to complete the simple banner.

Since we moved Fred from above the TV, I used this free fall printable from Kellie at Nest of Posies to fill the hole for the time being.

Pretty simple and inexpensive - just the way we like it around here.  I've got the final installment of the porch columns DIY in the works for you and some dining room updates to share soon.  Have a great week!