Fall Mantle in Process...

by Holly

I love my mantle.  It was one of the reasons I fell in love with my house.

I have lived in a few different houses since I got married, and none of them had a mantle.

Our first apartment had nothing.
Our first condo had a shelf.
Our first house had a funky little bump that stuck out of the wall, but nothing substantial.

Our mantle now is big, solid, and beautiful; and now I am faced with the dilemma of how to decorate it.  And I'm not sure I am doing it well.

I spent this evening on pinterest trying to find ideas.  LOVE pinterest!!!  I could look at those pins for a long time (or until my kids start yelling for me, which usually happens about 2 minutes into it).

I have to stick with what I have due to a limited budget, so it is a work in progress.

Here is the summer mantle, and my starting point...

Cute pops of color (love the little orange birdhouse I found at Michael's) and somewhat beachy.

Here is fall so far...

I say this is in progress because I am waiting until I go to the local pumpkin patch with my kiddos to get a few little pumpkins to add more color (Have you seen some of the new pumpkin colors?  Love. Love. Love the new pale greens, creams, and yellows I've seen).  I think I'm sticking with blacks, browns, probably pops of orange, and clear glass accents.  Too dark?  We'll see. 

I am also going to get a few new little candles to go in the mason jars.  I am thinking white, but maybe I need more color?  (Notice the little mini sand timer?  Counts out a perfect 3 minutes which is just enough time for my boys to wrap up any video games they are playing or to do a quick pick up around the room.)

Anyway, that is as far as I've gotten.  I'm just happy that I got my summer stuff out of here before Thanksgiving rolls around.

Have you guys come up with any great mantle decorations that work well for you?  Would LOVE to hear about them!

Happy Thursday!