The Mantel

 

When hubby and I bought our house, back in September, there were 2 things that made my heart flutter.  The hardwood floors and the big beautiful fireplace.

I now have a strong love hate relationship with my fireplace. 

Mainly, it’s size.  It’s long.  I mean really long. 

My original plan was to find a mirror to place on the mantel. 

I had visions of this…

http://themclife.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-mantel-fun.html via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Then came reality…The mirror needed to be at least 4 ft long.

My problem?  The fact that I had given myself a $50.00 budget to buy such a mirror.

(cause I'm cheap like that)

I looked everywhere.  I came close to buying a couple…but they were just too cheap.

(imagine that.)

So I started searching thru the basement.

You see, the previous owner of our house decided he wanted to give us a basement full of crap.

  Some of it was cool, but mostly it was just junk. 

Because I'm a pack-rat  For some reason, I had kept a large ugly painting in a gold frame. 

The painting is now a large piece of cardboard that I will use someday. 

And the frame is sitting on my mantel.

Here is my January mantel.  I liked the wreath, but the rest of the mantel felt small. 

Don't worry, picture quality will be improving soon.

Here is my February mantel.

See, picture quality already improved...slightly.

For the rose garland, I just bought 2 bouquets at ½ price from Hobby Lobby. 

I removed the flowers and strung with string. 

The hardest part of the process was getting that darn needle, thru the multiple layers of fabric that make up the rose. 

The whole process took less than 30 minutes and $6.00.  That’s a win in my book.

Don't you love that vase?  It was an estate sale find.  Super Cheap!

Now I can sit back and enjoy this mantel for a couple more weeks while I brainstorm my March mantel.  So far I haven’t found anything that inspires.  But I’m sure pinterest will come thru for me!

 

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