My Valentine Mantle...

Mantles are my fave.  It's a super fun thing for me to put together each month - not only for myself, but my kids just love them too.  I love to see the look on their faces when they come home from school and see new decorations that signal a new holiday celebration is right around the corner.  I am also always SO excited and flattered to hear your comments and get your emails regarding my mantles.  My most asked question is where I get all of my items and how I put them together, so I thought I'd do a post and go into a little bit more detail. 

First... and probably my BEST tip is to find pieces that you can use each month, but coordinate it by changing ribbon, fillers and contents.  For example - hurricane vases and glass containers are perfect for this.  If you scroll back through my posts, you might notice I use a lot of the same main pieces and just change out simple accents to change the way they look. This keeps your mantle change-outs fairly inexpensive as well.  Even my subway art applies to this idea... I bought the frame once, but by changing the print each month... I modify the focal point of my mantle for about $5.  White candles are also an easy trick.  Just tie/wrap them in coordinating ribbon or wrap them in scrapbook paper.  See the candle on the very right?  I used the "accent" paper that comes with my banner... I simply just cut it, wrapped the candle and taped it in the back.  Sneaky little trick, huh!  Next month, I can just change the marbles and wrap it in St. Patrick's themed paper.  Easy!

Second thing I think of when I'm putting my mantle together is texture and materials.  The more materials you mix, the more interesting your design is.  For example... I've got glass and marbles, iron/metal, a stick wreath, a woven vase, flowers, fabric, ribbon and paper.  Each texture adds a cool element to the overall look. If it was all wire or all fabric it would be boring - so try to mix and match as many textures as you can. I'm no expert and certainly not a designer... these are just tips that appeal to me.

Where do I shop?  When I lived in Salt Lake and Las Vegas, there were a MILLION AMAZING crafty, home stores to shop.  Here in New Jersey, I do my best between Michael's and Target.  I make an occasional trip to Home Goods and like to browse Pier 1 for inspiration.  For this mantle, the plate, pink frame, hanging striped tin basket, white heart vase and heart wreath all came from Target.  The glassware, Valentine string of rags & ribbons, the pink and white dogwood flowers and woven vase all came from Michael's.  My favorite piece and one I use every month, the iron bird cage, came from Pier 1.  My sister and I bought those together, so it reminds me of her. My husband works for the M&M guys - so it's always, always appropriate for me to have M&M's mixed in there somewhere!  Last but not least... MY SHOP is also a big part of my mantle as well {wink, wink}! 

If you don't have a mantle, never fear!  You can use an entry table, a buffet table or install a large shelf somewhere in the heart of your home.  These decorations set a fun tone in our home, I hope you enjoyed my tips and found something that inspired you!

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Happy Decorating!

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PS... Take a peak of my past mantles HERE. 

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