mantel decor – A Diamond in the Stuff

Give Thanks Mantel {Updated}

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:00:32 +0000

It’s crazy to me that I created my Give Thanks Mantel 4 years ago. I love it just as much today as I did the day I put it all together. Although it has evolved a little bit, so that is why I wanted to do a little post update on it!

Well one of the biggest and most obvious changes is my current mantel! At our last home we lived in military base housing and we literally had a shelf above an electric fireplace. I wasn’t complaining though because prior to that there was no shelf. There was no fireplace. So that little shelf was a step up for me. Since then we have moved. Again. We bought our very first home and it has a huge fireplace and mantel.

I added a large 9 pane old window to the back of all the mantel decor. Now that my mantel decor is on this larger more impressive mantel, it needed something to make the set up stand out more. It needed a larger presence!

I am kind of amazed that all these years later, I still love my Fall Mantel. Usually my attention wanes and I get board of certain decorations. My taste evolves and I refresh. This one is still perfect 4 years later!

I can’t imagine ever wanting to change my Fall Give Thanks Mantel, but I’m sure the day will come. Until then I will just enjoy it’s warm neutral colors, different shapes and textures, and just general beauty!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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Last week I shared my tutorial for this beautiful DIY Faux Framed Chalkboard. If you too aren’t the greatest with free hand writing but you love the look of chalkboards, this is the project for you!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

{BOO}tiful Halloween Mantel

Courtney Carmean — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:00:00 +0000

It’s not a big surprise that moving into a new home requires some decor changes. Some things fit, some things don’t. Some things end up in different rooms or with new purposes.

Well it really shouldn’t be any surprise then that my holiday decor also needs some adjusting in the new house. I’m not sure if it’s the move or just my evolving style, but when I unpacked my Halloween decor I decided that my mantel needed a new look. Not to mention that I now have a big beautiful real mantel to decorate now.

Check out my new BOOtiful Halloween Mantel……

I was already using the large black frame for my previous mantel (and other holidays as well) and I decided that I wanted to add some more frames to the mix. Lucky for me I always have a stack of frames laying around this place….you never know when I will get inspired to whip something up.

When it comes to Halloween I love to stick with “traditional” colors, as long as they are bright. I don’t really like to do a lot of literal Halloween fabrics, papers, etc. so I go with the traditional colors in funky patterns and textures. In the end it really does reflect my general decorating style: vintage with a contemporary twist.

I kept the mantel pretty simple; just playing with a few colors, textures, and shapes. I included my BOO Blocks that I made last year for one of my make and take classes. They love their new home on the mantel!

You may have also noticed the candles in the fireplace….I thought in between roaring fires it would be nice to have a bunch of mismatched white candles burning. I propped a small mirror behind the candles to double the candlelight. I just love the flicker of candles….especially as we settle into Fall. It just feels right.

So what do you think of my new BOOtiful Halloween Mantel??? What kind of holiday decorating style do you have? Vintage? Modern? Country? Retro? Whimsical?

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

My {Revised} Summer Mantel

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Last year I created my first Summer Mantel. I love it, but I wanted it to be just a bit more substantial. There needed to be more to it. So I bought a couple more items and tweaked the arrangement of everything on my Revised Summer Mantel.

It’s not a secret that I love my old cameras and since I believe in decorating in 3’s, I decided I needed another camera to add to my collection. The good news is that I have a booth in an awesome antique/handmade store and finding treasures like this are sometimes easy. This time it was very easy. I love my new camera!

I am a BIG fan of vintage looks but I haven’t gone nuts with too many vintage pieces in my home. So I love that this mantel has given me an awesome vintage space. It gives me the feel of a 50’s beach movie.

I know there aren’t any major changes happening here, but I am even happier with my Summer Mantel then before.

I find so much joy decorating my mantel. I’m sure some people find the idea of changing their mantel for different holidays and seasons daunting. For me, it’s a fun way to express my creativity and keep things fresh.

If you want to see my other mantels you can check out my Year Of Mantels post.

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

My Updated Valentine Mantel

Courtney Carmean — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Last Valentine’s day I created my first Valentine’s Day Mantel. I was absolutely in love with it but I am learning that I get a bit restless when it comes to decorating. I struggle to leave well enough alone. So I decided to add just a couple changes to my Valentine’s mantel this year.

I kept most of it the same and decided to just add a few more items to warm things up.

Under the white pitcher filled with pink flowers, I put a couple old worn books. I love the extra warmth and texture that they provide. Instead of those black iron candle stands, I used some ornate goldish ones. They are a lot more frilly and romantic!

Nothing earth shattering, just a little updating.

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

A Year Of Mantels

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite places to decorate in my home is my mantel. I haven’t always had a mantel, in fact the “mantel” I have right now is more like a shelf above an electric fireplace. But who’s counting? We move around so much and usually live in military housing, so I take what I can get! I have now spent a full year in this house and I’ve been able to decorate my mantel for all the seasons and holidays. So I thought I would post a round up of images from all of my mantel decor from the past year.

First up is my Valentine’s Day Mantel. After all of the Christmas decorations come down the house feels very empty and sad. So it’s a perfect time to show my mantel a little….LOVE! I kept the colors simple using only black and white with touches of pink. The only thing that made it better is when Better Homes & Gardens featured my Valentine mantel!!!

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Once it was time to put the pink away it was time to put together my Spring Mantel. I crafted a few mossy items to create my earthy green Spring mantel. As always, I kept it pretty simple and tried to make a big statement with the pieces that I choose.

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The weather started to warm up and the beach was calling our names. So I wanted my Summer Mantel to reflect that. I choose to stick with the colors of the sun and sea. The addition of the camera has to be my favorite part of this mantel, not to mention the other vintage finds. It all makes me think of an old Summer cabin at the shore.

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Before we knew it, Summer was over and it was time for back to school. Which meant it was time for a mantel change and because there needed to be a gap filled between Summer and Fall. So my Back to School Mantel was born. It’s definitely the most scholarly of my mantels but there is nothing nerdy about it!

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Once Halloween came around I was itching to start doing some serious holiday decorating! I had a blast creating my Halloween Mantel! I had a lot of fun playing with lots of different textures, heights, and depths. I think my favorite part is the “31” pumpkin, I really like to experiment with using typography in my home decor.

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By the time Thanksgiving came I wasn’t sure if I had anymore great mantel ideas left in me. I felt like I was tapped out….and then some “thanks” pumpkins popped into my head. One idea led to another and my Thanksgiving Mantel was created! The minute…..no…..the second it was done I was in love with it! Part of me wanted to be able to keep it up year round! But the other part of me knew that Christmas was on the horizon.

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Lastly, but most certainly NOT least is my Christmas Mantel. I knew that my window ornament hanger from the year before would be making a return but I also knew that I wanted to improve my red and green mantel from last year. With the addition of some ruffle trees and greenery I think I have found a Christmas mantel I can love!

That’s it!

One year and seven mantels.

I hope that you enjoyed my year of mantels tour!!! Do you have a favorite? I think it would be hard for me to choose! Is decorating your mantel part of your seasonal and holiday decor routine?

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

My {Red & Green} Christmas Mantel

Courtney Carmean — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Alright it is finally time to post about my Christmas Mantel!!!

Last year I made my Window Ornament Holder and absolutely fell in love with it. It has to be one of my favorite ALL time projects!!! Certain holiday decor may come and go through the years but I am sure that this one will be sticking around for a very long time! So it of course is the center of my Christmas mantel!

Although, I did change some things up a bit this year but not a lot. I love keeping things basic with my color scheme and decor. Most of my Christmas items are bright red and green. It’s classic but I like a bit of the whimsy too!

I picked up the fun sparkly “NOEL” last year at an after Christmas sale. Every holiday decor needs a little sparkle right?

Have I mentioned that I’m obsessed with my window ornament holder??? I changed up the ornaments a bit from last year (more after Christmas sales)! If it’s possible I am even more happy with it this year!

I finally broke down last year and purchased some personalized stockings for the family. I always cringed at the price but decided that it was worth the investment and I’m so glad that I did!

This year I added some ruffle trees to my mantel decor. I picked up some fun polka dot and striped red and green ribbons at my local craft store. Ruffle trees got put on my “to-do” list last year and I’m so glad that I got to them! They are pretty easy to do and the end result is awesome!

I am so happy with the way that my Christmas mantel turned out this year! I couldn’t imagine anything better!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!