Fall Decorating - A Series: Part 2 - The Mantle

I had so much fun looking on Pinterest to get inspiration for my Fall decorations.  I did a specific search for 'mantle decorations' because I feel lost when it comes to how to decorate this area in my house.  Here's what I was working with:

What do you suppose the builder was thinking when he left those huge gaping holes around the fireplace?  (I refer to them as 'cubbies'.  Maybe he has a special affection for silk plants/ivy?  Could you just see that tumbling out of each of the upper cubbies?  Unfortunately, I am NOT a fan of silk plants so I'm a bit lost.

 Here are some of the amazing Fall mantle ideas that I found on Pinterest:

Sweet Something Design via Pinterest

The Lettered Cottage via Pinterest

Parents.com via Pinterest



It's The Little Things That Make A House via Pinterest

Here is what I ended up with!

I incorporated some aqua (it's a main color in my living and kitchen area) but added golden yellow and orange to create a warmer color scheme.  The garland was made using silk leaves ($1.99 at A.C. Moore), felt penants cut with pinking shears and then sewn with a zig zag stitch onto brown and red binding tape.

I added some of the silk leaves to the sconces that flank each side of the painting over the mantle

Using some silk Mums that I purchased at Hobby Lobby, I cut them down and put them into vases.  The sunflower painting I orginally painted a few years ago as a Christmas gift for my Mom - not sure how I ended up getting it back!

This driftwood was a going away gift from friends when we moved from Washington state - isn't it amazing?  

The book pumpkins - aren't they fabulous?  

I found the idea for them on Pinterest using this tutorial: Book Pumpkin Tutorial.  I purchased books at the Dollar Store, clipped some branches in my back yard and used ribbon that I already had on hand.... did you notice that the pumpkin on the right... the book is upside down?  OOPS!

Fall Decorating - A Series: Part 1 - Weathered Pumpkins

Source:  homestoriesatoz.com

Using this as my inspiration/tutorial: Blue Pumpkin Tutorial, I created some distressed pumpkins using Dollar Store pumpkins to make a vignette for Fall decorating.  I bought eight pumpkins/gourds at the Dollar Store then purchased Crackle Medium from the new Martha Stewart Paint Line as well as some metallic paint in Copper.  I definitely got a weathered look but it didn't really 'crackle' like the example above...  I'm happy with the final results though and look forward to being able to try 'crackling' other stuff!

This vignette sits on the credenza in my entry way....

My Mom sewed me a 'placemat' using some awesome indoor/outdoor fabric we found at JoAnne's.  We also used it to make a slipcover for my adirondack chair on the front porch - look for that in a future post!

Custom Made Patchwork Bag

Awhile back a customer contacted me about creating a custom bag for her.  She was this wonderfully nice woman LaVerne who lives in Vidalia, LA.... she had a dress that was her mother's and was hoping to make something special from it.  She had previously purchased one of my smaller handbags and was hoping I could make a larger one using fabric from the dress.  She mailed it to me and I opened the package to find a dress made of panne velvet - something I'd never worked with before.... thankfully my Mom was visiting soon so I held off doing anything until she arrived.  :)  Really, she ended up sewing the whole bag and I'm not afraid to admit that!  It looked like a HUGE pain to sew the velvet, plus my sewing machine is acting up.... she pulled it off though and the end result looks great: