A Mantle For Every Season

  This has been our mantle all summer.   If you're like me, you like things neat and tidy and don't like to store a lot of extra decor.  If something doesn't fit in your house, out to Goodwill it goes.   All of my mantle decor fits into one box labeled "mantle" that we keep in the garage.  I rotate my mantle decor by seasons; I have decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  But with only those holidays, it leaves nine months of the year undecorated.  Since I have limited space to store the rest of the decor, I need a mantle design that fits all seasons, a mantle that works for every non-holiday month of the year.

 This mantle, with it's subtle colors on top and a bright pop on bottom...spring flowers and simple frames, meets the bill and fits every season!   With a few changeable elements this mantle can keep you entertained all year.

 These glass flowers were made by my glass blowing professor from San Luis Obispo, George Jercich.  George works with glass for a living and we commissioned him to make these for our wedding cake topper.  I love the sentimentality it adds to the mantle!  There are so many 3D glass artworks that would be a gorgeous addition and add a personal touch to this mantle.  If you are from the bay area, artists from Bay Area Glass Institute often sell work at the Stanford Shopping Center.

The absolutely gorgeous glass hummingbird is by artist Shawn Tsai and was purchased at the Kings Mountain Art Festival, a fair that takes place annually out in nature, surrounded by gorgeous Redwood Trees in Woodside, CA.   It is a simply fantastic art festival one of the best I've been to and I definitely recommend going.   If you want a hummingbird or another fantastic glass piece, visit Shawn at one of his upcoming events.

I was gifted this desk calendar at Christmas.  It makes an easy decoration that's also practical.  The best part is it changes monthly, giving the whole mantle a new feeling so you never get bored.  Plus you can get a new one every year!  Perhaps one of {these} customizable desktop calendars from Shutterfly would be fun to try!

Also pictured are a glass block frame with my son's baby picture (you could also have photographs printed directly on an acrylic block like {this one}), and a clay keepsake craft with an impression of our son's baby foot print!  You can pick up similar kits at your local arts and craft store or online.  We used {this one}.  Some other gorgeous options: {here} and {here}.

Having framed pictures on the mantle enables you to switch out the pictures easily, a quick way to freshen up the whole design!  I buy all my prints at Shutterfly, I think they do a fabulous job with color and print quality (and I am very picky when it comes to my prints).  

Another way to liven up the mantle with fresh colors every month, is to change out the colors of the candles!  I keep a bag of candles stored in a handy place so I can easily switch them out if I need a different feeling.  I find a variety of colors will go well, since the felt pom-pom garland compliments almost every color.

Hope you enjoyed this versatile mantle decor inspiration!!

xo. m

LINKS

All Three Frames || Foot Print Kit ||  Glass Flowers || Glass Hummingbird || Ornament Stand || Vase || Pom Pom Garland || Clock ||  Photographic Prints