Blue & White Spring Mantle

I have so many things I want to show you that it was hard to pick what to post about first!!
I figured I should go ahead and share a spring-related post since it's finally starting to warm up and feel spring-y here!

This was my first attempt to really decorate the mantel in the new house. 
Christmas was a bit of practice, but to be honest, I didn't have a lot of time or patience to work on it like I wanted, so next Christmas will be a different story :) 

After christmas came down, I wanted something that could stick around for a little while- work for Spring and possibly through Summer. 

We have so many parties and other events during spring/summer, I don't like to have to worry about switching over the mantle completely until Fall. 

I usually do tweak it a bit though. 

Anywho. Let's get to talking about spring. 
Here's what I ended up coming up with: 

I really wanted to go somewhat neutral and bring in lots of whites & light wood tones. 

The whole house is painted in a beige with those crazy dark red floors so I didn't want a ton of color this time around. Although I always have to add in a splash of my beautiful blue that I love. 

Can you believe that the wood sign in the middle was completely handmade? 

Sometimes I outdo even what I think I'm capable of!!

I wanted a beautiful & huge sign hung in the middle and made all kinds of excuses for a while before I finally just decided to try it. 

I'll give more details on the how-to another day but I'm just in love with it. 

I found the cute (and free!) floral print on this pretty little blog.  I printed it and then just stuck it in an extra frame I had lying around, it has linen wrapped around the inner piece to serve as a pretty backing. 

One of my favorite things on the mantle this go-around is that pretty little print of the horse drawn carriage in Central Park. Me and the hubby bought it off a street vendor for like $1 when we were in New York City this past October. It's a pretty reminder of the amazing trip we had. And yes, we did pay a million dollars to take the carriage ride into Central Park. Totally worth it for the memories made :)

I'm so glad to have it up where we can see it everyday! And baby M loves to point at it and say 'neigh' every few minutes because horses are her current obsession. 

When making the huge sign for the centerpiece, this song immediately popped into my head. It actually says "All I need in this life is your crazy love" but, hey, nobody's perfect. And really, world just fits better :) 

Me and hubby love the song and he is learning to play it on the guitar so it's playing a lot in our house. 

I decided to go with a paler blue than I used in the main part of the old house. 

I wanted it to go with more things, be a little more neutral and also just have a soft appearance. 

I'm obsessed with the 'mint whisper' in the nursery so I've slowly been incorporating that color more into the rest of the house, playing with varying the shade a bit. 

The mint whisper is a funny color to work with though, and was wayyyy too light on this sign to have white letters against it. It looks so blue most of the time but when I painted it all Mint Whisper at first, the white letters barely stood out. 

I ended up mixing the Mint Whisper with several other blues to create a darker base for the white letters to stand out against. 

It was hard to capture in pictures but in real life, it's gorgeous. 

Drop on by & I'll show you :) 

I used a darker blue to dry brush over it and I feel like it gives it a watercolor finish almost. 

My birds have somehow become a family favorite since the kids deem them my 'watch birds'. The white cutie is from Michaels and sat on top of our wedding cake :) 

The chunky blue candlestick was a Homegoods find. I spraypainted a few branches white from our tree outside and stuck them in. 

The white frames are all ones I keep on hand- we have such an amazing storage room in the garage! I get to keep all my extra decor, party supplies & random pieces in it and it's probably one of my favorite things about this house. 

So I have a whole box dedicated just to extra frames :) 

The cute little chippy candleholder was a flea market find and the tree slices are ones I've had for several years now from when my dad chopped down a tree in his backyard. The birch looking ones were roadside pieces! 

The wood pieces just ended up working somehow and fill the space underneath the sign perfectly! I love the neutral colors the wood tones bring in!! 

I'm crazy in love with the huge wooden sign though! 

I'm thinking I need to find a more permanent place for it after the Spring mantle comes down this year. 

I'm loving all this warm weather and it has us completely inspired to get to work on some bigger projects. 

Plus little man's bday is fast approaching and I'm having so much fun preparing for it too! 

Hope your monday is smooth & fabulous!!

See you again soon!

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My Thrifty Tips to Creating a Gorgeous Spring Mantle

Sooo...

did you guys get a chance to check out my spring mantle reveal I shared last week? 

If not... you'll definitely want to so that this post totally makes more sense :)

This is super exciting for me because it's my first ever 'tip-giving' post! 

I hope it helps provide some inspiration to you by giving a little insight into my own creative process!!

I wanted to share the 'behind the scenes' part of how it all came together. 

Because decorating my mantle is probably my favorite thing to decorate in the house.

Ok... so I KNOW it is my favorite. 

Here's the finished product in case you need a reminder...

But it definitely did NOT start out with all these pieces.
Most started as discarded junk... things that were plain & would be very easily overlooked at first glance. 

Here's my major tips when you're starting to decorate a mantle from scratch: 

1. Sketch it out. 

Does that sound weird? But it soo helps. I do it for almost every time I switch things up for the season. It gives me a jumping off point for my design. Sometimes it all centers around something I already know I want up there and sometimes I just start drawing and make what I have (or find!) work with the vision in my head. 

And trust me, I am NOT an artist. Most of my drawings are squares with arrows explaining what they're supposed to be. ha! So don't feel pressured to sketch a masterpiece :)

2. Look at what you already have. 

My first place to go when I start coming up with ideas is my junk pile. I walk out to the garage and just start looking around. I also keep an area where my 'seasonal' things are kept that could be used for other set-ups such as painted doors, shutters, frames & other various items that could easily be used as neutral pieces for every season. Shop your house if you need to and bring something from another room. It's an easy way to get a fresh look when you just switch what you already have around to new places.

Most of the pieces from my spring mantle were 'junk' pieces I had lying around waiting to be used for something awesome. 

Like these cabinet doors: 

3. Go 'treasure hunting' 

It could be your favorite thrift store, bargain area, yard sale or even curb-side shopping. 

Go looking and find something you love. Sometimes the most unexpected things pop out at you and it becomes the 'star' of the whole thing. 

Like the piece that became the star of my spring mantle. 

I found it on the side of the road and knew instantly that it would be gorgeous with some kind of lettering. I designed my whole mantle around it so it would shine! 

But at first it was just a blank piece of discarded wood: 

4. Think about what could be not what already is. 

That sounds like a sappy line from some movie but it's true for this!!

When you're out shopping, keep your eyes out for shapes that you love. Lines that are interesting. Things that catch your eye even if they may be painted in the most hideous shade of chartreuse ever. Which leads me to...

5. Ask yourself questions.

Can it be painted? Is it wood? Metal? Glass?  Then the answer is nearly always yes.

Just because it has a weird animal motif or bad paint job doesn't mean that an awesome chunky frame or curvy vase couldn't become something stunning. 

Try to be open-minded and let yourself think about what it could look like with a good sanding or a coat of paint. 

Check out these before and afters for some examples of what I mean: 

The before: 

2 cabinet doors from my 'junk pile

An unfinished frame from Michaels

The After: 

One of the cabinet doors was painted in a cheery yellow with a while vinyl 'you'

The other door was painted in a glossy white with the Michaels frame painted blue & attached with hot glue. 

I  also added my 'extraordinary' printable from Valentines Day. 

The Before: 

A cabinet door already painted from my 'seasonal' stash

A Goodwill frame (with a plain, ugly finish)

Dollar Store Mirror

The After: 

I recycled my cabinet door from my fall mantle 

 The goodwill frame got a fresh coat of blue & I added my 'He is mine' printable. 

The Dollar Store frame was painted in the same yellow as the cabinet door before. 

The little cork 'C' was a gift. 

I found a couple scrap pieces of 2x4s in the garage and stained them espresso brown for my chevron hanging. 

Then stenciled over the stain with a glossy white. 

The last (and I think most important) tip I can give you is...

6. Make it you. 

Add your favorite colors, some pieces that make you happy. Throw in some favorite family pictures or printables that tell your own story. 

Add a handmade sign that says something important to you. 

Or just plain makes you smile.

Because it's your house and it should make YOU happy. 

After all, you're the person who will be seeing it most of the time. 

Every time I walk into my living room, the first thing I see is my 'life is extraordinary' sign. 

And it makes my heart smile. 

Not only is it so reflective of the past year but it's a wonderful reminder even on my most grumpy days :) 

There is potential in so many, random things that most people would call junk. 

Start training your eyes to look past that and see what it could become! 

Things don't always start off perfect & beautiful. 

Personally, I love the thrill of finding pieces of junk and turning them into something I love and that other people can love too. 

Plus hubby appreciates it because it doesn't break the bank :) 

But look what a little junk can become: 

Full item list (from left to right) 

Yellow Sign: Painted cabinet door

Tiny aqua vase: Thrifted

White Sign: Painted cabinet door + Michaels unfinished frame

Yellow Planter: Dollar Store (and I didn't even paint it!!) 

"Life is Extraordinary" sign: Curbside rescue 

Chevron Painting: painted 2x4s from stash

Yellow Mirror: Painted Dollar Store Mirror

White Door: Painted Cabinet Door

Cork C: Hobby Lobby

Blue Frame: Painted Goodwill frame

Fleur de lis: Hobby Lobby

White Vase: Hobby Lobby

'Spring' Banner: DIY project (tutorial coming soon!) 

I hope these tips helped in giving you the inspiration to create your own mantle decor (or any home decor!) from thrifted and found treasures. 

I'm still constantly surprised by the power of paint & a little creativity. 

Don't be afraid to try out different things until you get what you like. 

I promise I usually end up with something quite different from my original sketch because I tweak here & there to make it just right. 

It really is so much fun & you'll have the option of making it completely YOU!!

Happy decorating :)

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Don't forget to enter the giveaway for your own Origami Living Locket!! 

It's super easy to enter- click here for the giveaway!

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Spring Mantle 2013 Reveal!!

I know, it's nearly halfway through spring already.

But we still aren't getting consistent spring-like weather.
Boo.

Today we're getting tornadoes.

Be jealous. 

Sooo I've been dying to share my latest mantle update and I'm finally getting around to being able to share it with you!

If you guys have followed me for a while, 
you know that I love taking thrifty treasures and transforming them.
I love having a little stash of pieces that I'll be able to pull out for projects like this.

I'm one of those people that goes straight from Christmas decor to spring decor.
I just don't mess with valentines and 'winter' decorating much. 
So right after Christmas decor came down,
I started thinking about what to do for a spring mantle. 

I knew I wanted to incorporate pieces showing me & hubby's newfound love somehow.
What can I say? We're hopeless :) 

So I pulled out pieces from my ever-growing stash of treasures and started playing around.

My vision for my spring mantle all stemmed from this: 

I found it on the side of the road and knew instantly it had to be a centerpiece somewhere!
The wood grain is gorgeous and I was completely in love with the natural color of it. 

I have no idea what it's supposed to be but it came home with me :) 

I rubbed it down with some wood reviving polish I had and let it sit up on the mantle for a few days deciding how to make it shine. 

Well, remember when I shared with you at the beginning of the year that our family word this year is 'extraordinary'?
I decided that our mantle needed to display that proudly.

So I settled on 'Life is extraordinary'. 

Simple, to the point and oh-so-true. 

So my sign got some simple stenciling...

Annnd....

Here's the mantle after figuring out what to do with that guy:

Gorgeous, right??

Basically,  I started pulling things out of my stash and playing.

I'll be sharing more tips on how I go through my creative process tomorrow :) 

For now, just know that I used my huge board as my star and made everything else work around it. 

I played here & there with pieces until I got a layout that I loved.

Then enter in the spraypaint, glue gun & small accessories. 

Here's the end product: 

Ah! Color and typography & greenery!!!

It's so airy and fresh. 

I'm in love with how it turned out!!

Can you believe it's using all the same things from the picture before??? 

I couldn't resist buying up a few succulents at our local market a few weeks ago. 

This one got potted in a dollar store pot and set on the mantle for some much-needed natural beauty :) 

I'll be sharing more about my spring banner later. 

Isn't it fun? 

At the beginning, when we first found each other again...there were many times when hubby and I would just look at each other with a big, silly grin on our face. 

The other would say 'What?'

And we'd inevitably reply 'Nothing. It's just...you." 

Because it's still pretty amazing that we get to be together.

Thus the big 'you' sign that made it on the mantle. 

I'm also in love with that tiny blue vase that was a fun thrifty find. 

Remember my chevron wood art I made for my fall mantle? 

I decided to make a smaller version for this one. 

I loved it that much :) 

More on that later too. 

My tiny gold fleur-de-lis always seems to find a spot somehow.

I'm in love with the random cork 'c' that my sister got me for my bday too. 

The other pieces are mostly thrifted treasures besides that gorgeous white vase from Hobby Lobby that I treated myself to for my bday last year. 

Are you loving the doily banner on the 'extraordinary' sign? 

Took about 10 seconds!!

I folded over doilies from Michael's dollar spot and strung them on Baker's Twine.

Easy peasy.

I'm obsessed with blue & yellow together this spring. 

It's so vibrant and happy looking.

If you're like me, spring is my favorite time of the year because everything is bright & cheery. 

I love bringing that inside a bit :) 

Here's the snapshot of that whole side of the living room in case you were wondering. 

Those tiny windows on either side drive me crazy but they do let sunshine peek in so I guess I can't complain too much. 

Don't you love the basket full of cars too?

Just keeping it real, guys :) 

I love the side-by-side of how it all came together.

Who'd have thunk that so many plain & out-dated pieces could be so happy and cheerful? 

So, do you love my spring mantle as much as I do? 

What colors are you loving this spring? 

I'll be back tomorrow to share some tips & more in-depth explanations of how I transformed some of these pieces so be sure to check back!!

Hope you guys are having a great week!

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Looking for more? 
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Check out last year's spring mantle here
& 
how I updated my fireplace with a simple can of spraypaint!

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