Natural Fall Mantel

I am finally going to share my fall mantel. I wish I could say that I just threw some things together and called it a day. I wish I could say I just worked with what I had (that is partially true) and a few minutes later voilà - A beautiful mantel was ready for the fall.  But..... I could not get this one to come together.  I have wished and wished for a mantel to decorate for the seasons.  We have typically had a huge television over our mantel, and that REALLY limits what you do to make the fireplace look festive.  However, we moved recently and we now have a "den" and a small living/sitting room. (To tell the truth, I am not sure what to call this room). The den is where we hang out and watch tv.  The "sitting room" is where we - hmmm, we don't do anything in here!! Well, we walk through it on the way to the kitchen and den!!  But, I digress!  Back to the story - I was finally able to decorate the mantel and it threw me for a loop.  I started, stopped, tweaked it,  tried again and finally decided it was complete.  What do you think?

I have had the picture for several years. It used to hang in our foyer.  I thought it was perfect now over the fireplace.  Prior to decorating for fall I had it

 propped up on the mantel. I asked Jon to hang it for me so I could place items 

underneath it without appearing too crowded. 

I love the little squirrels that I purchased at a florist near where I work in Mississippi.  

Their faces are precious!  I scattered around some of my tiny plush

 pumpkins, acorns and mushrooms.  

I pulled out some of the pumpkins that I have purchased over the last few years.  These were purchased at Hallmark and Hobby Lobby.  While I do collect Ironstone, this pitcher is inexpensive.  It is from Target and cost less than fifteen dollars.  I believe the burlap flowers are actually poinsettias.  I am sure they are meant for Christmas, but I fell in love with them.  I decided not to wait until December to use them.  

My friend, Lynda, made the burlap bow for me.  She is always willing to help me 

because I can not make a bow!!  

I picked up an oval grapevine wreath from Michael's.  

I added the sweet owl that also came from the florist 

in Hurley, MS. It is an ornament - I snipped off the hanger. 

 I plan on getting more of these for my Christmas tree! 

  I picked up the small burlap rosettes at Antiques at the Loop in Mobile. 

 It is the BEST antique store around!! 

An apothecary jar is filled with pine cones to add more natural elements. 

The antique wire basket on the right was also a recent 

purchase from Antiques at the Loop.  I am not sure what it was originally used for but I am picturing someone collecting eggs in this little gem. 

 Don't tell me if that is not what it was 

used for - I have such a sweet picture in my mind!!  

So there you have it: my fall mantel.   Now, I am off to watch my little one play football!! I am so thankful that the weather in Alabama has finally cooled off just a bit.  It was actually below 80 degrees this week.  Yippee!!  As always, thank you for visiting Buttercup Bliss! 

I am joining the following parties:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Tweak It Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Come join the fun! 

Happy Fall from Buttercup Bliss

I hope everyone is enjoying the first few days of Fall.  We are eagerly

 anticipating the arrival of cooler temps in south Alabama. 

Fall Favorites

Welcome to our home! 

Happy Fall ya'll!  I hope everyone is enjoying fall wherever you may be!  We are having the most beautiful weather here.  It is finally cooling off here and I am so thankful that I can pull out some of my cute jackets and my cowboy boots!  I love this time of year.... football, cowboy boots, candy corn, cute scarves, pumpkins, pansies, mums, hot cider, Thanksgiving.... I mean, really, what is not to love about fall?

I also enjoy decorating for this time of year.  The colors are just gorgeous!!! I wanted to share a few of my fall favorites.  I'm not calling it a "Fall Home Tour" because I don't go all out and decorate the entire house, but I do like to add a few autumn touches here and there.  The warm wood tones in our home just seem to go so well with the colors of fall to make everything seem warm and cozy.

I love to plant pansies in the fall and winter... wait, who am I kidding?  

I love it when Jon plants pansies! 

They are so sweet - I love their "velvety" leaves. 

I bought these simple fall wreaths last year.  This year I jazzed them up with new burlap bows.  The bows were the perfect finishing touch! 

You've heard me say before that I am not a fan of the TV over the mantel because it limits how much I can decorate.  I decided to decorate for fall though with leaves and pumpkins. :-)

I shopped in my home and found these gold candlesticks that I placed on either side of the TV.  I still felt like it needed a little something else - I looked some more and found these sheer chocolate table runners that have beads on the end.  I tied them around the candlestick for just a little bit of shimmer and needed height. 

Pumpkins- A fall must have! 

More pumpkins! 

It wouldn't be October without Halloween candy!!  Yummy!!!  

My "Happy Everything" cookie jar now has an adorable witch attachment - too cute!

I made this last year and I liked it so much I brought it out this year.  Last year I used orange jelly beans.  They looked very cute but no one in my family eats them.  This year I went with one of my favorite fall goodies: candy corn. They are not as expensive as jelly beans and I love them! 

What a sweet treat!!

This happy jack-o-lantern is on our back door that leads in from our screened porch.  

It just makes me smile!! 

I am linking to the following parties:

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party with a Twist

Savvy Southern Style

Tweak it Tuesday @ Cozy Little House

Thanks for visiting Buttercup Bliss!

Lisa 

Cute and Easy - A Burlap Fall Wreath!

Today I am sharing with you a quick, easy project that you can whip up in less than an hour (or two at the most!)  I am sure like me, you are ready to begin decorating for fall.  I adore autumn - it is my very favorite season of the year - although I have to tell you in Alabama, fall comes pretty late!  It is still really hot here! And it will be for quite a while! But, that doesn't stop us from decorating for the season!!  It is time to bring out the fall decorations and cheer on our favorite college football team ~ another favorite fall pasttime!

To make this fall wreath you will need the following:  a straw wreath, burlap, several coordinating fabrics, a jar lid (or anything you have on hand to trace the perfect circles), sharp scissors (I had to buy a new pair because my boys constantly use my scissors to cut anything you can imagine ~ really, even shrubs!!), an assortment of straight pens, and grosgrain ribbon.

This will truly be the easiest project you do this fall!  Simply begin tracing and cutting circles out of the burlap and the three additional fabrics.  Get ready, you need a lot of circles!  Use  the larger circle for the burlap and the smaller circle for the colorful fabrics.  I just loved the cheerful fall colors in these fabrics that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I purchased 1 1/2 yards of the burlap and 1/3 of each of the others.  This is more than enough for one wreath - in fact, it may be enough to make another one.  I may be decorating my office door at work!

After you have cut out a bunch of circles, begin randomly pinning them to the wreath form -layering the colorful fabric on top of the burlap while alternating the patterns.  I found straight pins with colorful tops that matched the material.  This adds a little interest. :-).

Hmm... I just realized that I didn't take any pictures while I was actually making the wreath. I always forget that!  Please tell me you can follow my directions with out the aid of pictures.  :-)

After you have finished, simply loop a length of a coordinating grosgrain ribbon through and tie it at the top.  I actually bought two additional grosgrain patterns thinking that I would layer one on top of the solid brown, but decided to use just the chocolate brown ribbon by itself.  The other was really cute, but I decided it might be too "fussy".  When in doubt, keep it simple!

So... there you have it!  A simple, easy craft project that can be completed in a few hours and under $20.00.  That is my kind of project!!  It is perfect for our back door that leads to our screened porch. Don't you agree, back door friends are best? 

Happy fall decorating!!

This week I am happy to be joining the following parties:

Debbie-Doos

Lisa