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!

 

Linked up with...

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Kate and I'm a new blogger.

I know that the internet is full of craft blogs, but I'm hoping to add my own twist on the world of all things crafty.  Plus, this way I can post pictures of my projects without boring 2/3 of my facebook friends.

I have been married to my hubby for 3 1/2 years. 
I work full time as an accounting administrator.  (The farthest a person can get from creative in their work environment...)
I'm seriously addicted to pinterest (aren't we all...).
My cooking skills are average at best and I cannot sew...won't even try. 
I'm a terrible speller.  So forgive me now if my spell check doesn't catch everything.

I love paper crafts.  I used to scrapbook, but 3 years later, and my wedding pictures are still in a box.
I love to plan parties.  I am determined to plan a food table worthy of being repinned on pinterest.
I love to decorate.  And I have plenty of blank spaces waiting to be decorated.
I love to create.  And I hope to share it with the people that I love and anyone else who wants to see.
I have lots of goals...

Like, designing a new mantel each month,

Ok, let's add Curtains to this to do list too...
















creating a new wreath for each holiday,













making my own cards instead of buying them,

Follow that by actually giving cards
for more than weddings and showers.


 

and improve my photography skills.  (I've added this one after looking at the quality of the pictures posted here.  I promise they will get better!)

So now, as I write to the zero people currently following this little blog, I'm excited to let you all motivate me to decorate my house, give crafty gifts, and plan exciting parties.