Southern Scraps

  Hope everyone has been having a great summer. I finally got around to updating my mantel for summer. I always bring out the coastal decor for summer.   Bowls and hurricanes filled with shells and some coastal potpourri/filler that I picked up at Michael's a few years ago help act as fillers. This year I added a few new touches with the old. The salt dough starfish is back. Imaging my delight at finding a blue Ball (mason) jar at the thrift store for 50 cents. I knew it was going on my mantel so it had to come home with me. I filled it with some blue deco sand and a few pieces of driftwood. It's about the seahorses this year. The ceramic seahorse I found a few years ago is on the other side of the mantel with the burlap sea shell art and my  jute wrapped discover bottle. On one side of the hearth I placed a lantern and some more shells.  On the other side of the hearth, I placed a large hurricane filled with shells. This...

I really wanted to create a winter white mantel after Christmas, but to be honest with you, my mantel remained bare for about three weeks after we finally got Christmas packed away. So instead, I incorporated some white pieces into my Valentine's mantel and used the shabby white cloth garland I made for my parents' fiftieth wedding reception as inspiration to create somewhat of a shabby chic look. I used a white birdcage with a pair of white birds inside. I left the white and gold bow on it- gold decor is growing on me now. I also placed some glitter heart picks from the Dollar Tree in a white thrift store vase. I'm also using the same red frame I used last year  during Valentine's and on last year's fall mantel. I love that I have a collection of things I can swap out season to season. On the other side I'm using my glitter heart mason jar and the punched heart specimen art I made three years ago when I first started decorating for Valentine's...

Hello and welcome to a tour of my Halloween mantel. We are a little behind but things are coming together nicely. I didn't really know how I wanted to decorate this year, so I just pulled out my stuff and started arranging. I have an assortment of things collected and made over the years and a couple of new very quick DIY projects displayed. This photo  shows some new things. I left the chevron panel from the fall mantel in place and added a "Beware" pennant banner cut with my Silhouette (pennants) and Slice (letters- Spookey Alley). I also covered the red books that were already there with Halloween scrapbook paper and labeled them with stickers to make some very quick DIY Halloween spell books. Here's a secret- the paper doesn't fully cover the backs of the books, but you can't tell because of the way they are arranged. Full shot of mantel:

This has got to be one of the easiest and quickest crafts I've ever done. I was inspired by this project at Midwest Living . I already had a red frame on hand. If you don't, go grab a plain wood one from the craft of dollar store and paint it red. Instead of adding hooks or nails to my frame, I just tied ribbon around each side of the frame and then pinned fake leaves to the ribbon. You can get these leaves in packs from the Dollar Tree, Michaels, or just pull of few off an old garland. I'm using my framed leaves on the mantel and love the pop of color they give. Sharing here: Think Pink Sundays * Under the Table and Dreaming * Sundae Scoop * Suburb’s Mama Sunday link * DIY Sunday Showcase * Craftomaniac Monday * Make the Scene Monday * Masterpiece Monday * Motivate Me Monday * Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff * Pink Hippo Party * More The Merrier Monday * Mop It Up Monday * Monday Funday * Give me the Goods * The Scoop * Project Inspired *...

Yesterday I showed you my beach themed summer mantel decor. Today I'm back to show you how I've updated that same decor to a patriotic look and for less than $10. I picked up some patriotic paper fans from the Dollar Tree. They came two to a pack, one large and one small. I'll go ahead and tell you to expect to need a few more supplies to make them work. One of mine was missing string and one was missing the adhesive strip to hold it together. I also took extra adhesive to get them to stay together in the middle and not fold in half. I hung them from my mantel on clear Command hooks. You could also make a garland with them. I placed some red votives I already had on hand on each side. I purchased some small flags from Michael's and added them to the succulent arrangement. I took the fan with no string and adhered a small dowel to the back and stuck it in my shell filled hurricane.  I also picked up the picture frame from Tuesday Morning for $3.99. I placed...

Most of my decorations are done and up. I said most, not all. I still have a few tweaks to make here and there, but I'm having fun. My mantel is done so I'll start by sharing it.  I'm using the same color scheme and the same materials from last year . I just changed up the placement of the items. The fuzzy trees , ornament trees , pom pom garland , stockings and glitter reindeer are all making an appearance again. I also used some block letters on each side. These were used elsewhere in my house last year.    I filled a bowl and a glass hurricane with ornaments in my color palette. That's an easy way to have a dramatic effect. I love seeing them in the containers. I love my mantel again this year. Do you repeat the same decorations year after year, or switch up? I'll be sharing here: Christmas Mantel Link Party Think Pink Sundays * Under the Table and Dreaming * Sundae Scoop * Craftomaniac Monday * Make the Scene Monday * Make ...