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Mantel Decorating for Spring- Part 2

My sister, Angie and I are definitely on the same decorating path right now. For me I love the warm weather and want to take care of my inside "stuff" so I can spend more time in the garden and outside this summer! I especially like a clean look around my fireplace and you might know already that I love love love simple and shabby chic. I found most of my items around the house to put my mantel together because who really needs more stuff?



  
I started my project with my shabby chic ottoman (previously posted) and I recovered an old, very cool chair for $1 from fabric I found at the thrift store. I know Nate Berkus would be proud of me because my chair is the bright color that pops in the room! My friend, Jill had given my a birdhouse so I painted it a cream color (acrylic paint) and placed it on top of a candleholder that was headed for my garage sale (I painted that with the same cream color paint), draped some old vintage pearls on the candleholder and wrapped a vintage lace doily around the bottom. I also placed some very light pink roses in the birdhouse. I put flowers in a an old juice pitcher that was my grandma's and added some sparkly clear glass pieces. I bought the mirror but it was 50% off and it was perfect! I used LED candles on a shabby chic ceramic tray (that I bought for my sister but she donated to me before I gave it to her). I placed an old vintage linen around the tray. The little kitty on the floor was my grandma's, I always remember it in her living room when I was a little girl. She always had the kitty on a pillow so I stuffed an old children's pillowcase with pillow stuffing and put the kitty on it. That's it - now I have a spring/summer ready mantel for under $25. Hope you like it as much as I do! Happy decorating!

OK, time for a funny story, grab your coffee. So my sister and I were Skyping because she was trying to help me arrange the mantel and the phone just wasn't working. So I had my laptop in perfect viewing vision for her and I was busy moving things around on the mantel. We were trying all kinds of ideas and as she was watching me I turned my back to the mantel to pick up more pieces to try and suddenly there was a HUGE crash!! Yes - it was the mirror and yes it was laying on the hearth of the fireplace, mirror side down. I looked at my computer screen and she was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes - she watched the whole thing happen!! She said it was like slow motion falling, so it seems like she might have had a moment to warn me?? Haha - anyway, all is well, the mirror did not break and the hearth is unscathed and we had a good laugh! That's the way things happen to us...it's all about building memories!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi
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