Trick-or-Treat Halloween Mantel

Happy Halloween! My kids are so excited to dress up today as a pink fairy and Iron Man for their school costume parade and then head out trick-or-treating this evening. I hope I can keep up with them! I'm 38 weeks along now, just waiting on Baby Girl to make her appearance. 

A few weeks ago, I finally got the "Halloween decorating bug" and did up our dining room mantel. Hazel and Owen had fun helping me and making their own decorations too.

Mainly, I used items we already had, decorations from previous years, and some crafts we worked on together. The only new purchases were all of the pumpkins and gourds.

Here is what we put together…

Although I MUST WARN YOU!! Before we venture ahead…

Simple Fall Mantel: Minimalist & Natural

This year, I decided to go fairly simple with my fall mantel decor. The walls and salvaged mantel are both white, so I wanted to bring in a bit of deep seasonal colors and natural elements to welcome autumn into our dining room.

I shared a glimpse of it in my recent Fall Home Tour. Today, I am sharing more details of how I brought it all together.

Eclectic Fall Decor Ideas

Fall is finally here! After the hottest summer I can remember, I am thrilled that cooler weather has arrived in my neck of the woods. The leaves are changing, we've actually had rain after one of the driest seasons, and the humidity is finally gone. I love this time of year!
Decorating for this season is one of my favorite things to do, and I love being inspired by the cozy fall homes of others. I've gathered together some of my personal favorites from my own blog and from fellow bloggers, each with their own unique style and take on autumn decor.

Eclectic Bohemian Bedroom Reveal

I have partnered with Raymour & Flanigan for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own. Full disclosure.

My bedroom makeover is finally complete! I am excited to share a lot of photos and details about our space with you today and hope you enjoy the tour. It is on the small side since we switched from the master, but I am really happy with how it came out. It truly is like a dream waking up every day in this "new to us" room.

Last month, I talked about making the switch from the master to the smaller room so that Hazel and Owen could have a larger space. They have been sharing this small room since Owen was about a year old. It was getting really cramped with cribs, a dresser, stuffed animals, toys, etc. I had been wanting to switch our rooms for a long time, but it took awhile to get ourselves motivated to do it since a lot of decluttering had to happen first to make the transition easier.

Eclectic Spring Dining Room & Mantel

Spring is here! And it has gotten me in the mood to declutter and freshen up my home. Today, I'm sharing our simple dining room with subtle hints to welcome the season.

As I've mentioned other times, my dining room is the worst for collecting clutter. This room leads to the kitchen, basement and back patio so things are always piling up.

Holiday Home Tour 2015

This Christmas season has been special for me. With a three and four year old, it is absolutely the best time of year, so I have been taking things slow to savor all of the sweet moments and create lasting memories. I decided to hold off on doing a holiday home tour post for just that reason, but I'm happy to share it with you today.

I was invited to two large group tours and was a bit sad to turn them down, but I knew it would cause me a lot of stress getting our home all done up the week after Thanksgiving. I wanted to take my time and not get lost focusing on what everyone else would be impressed by, but what would make every day magical for my little ones. So that is what I am sharing today: our kid-centered, real life holiday home. I hope you enjoy the "visit"…

DIY Advent Calendar & Festive Holiday Mantel

I have been sponsored by Command Brand and received product for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own, and all additional products selected were chosen by me. This post also contains affiliate links*. Read my full disclosure. 

Decorating for Christmas has always been a favorite pastime of mine. Some years, however, I let the pressure to have a "perfect holiday home" get to me, and lose the joy the season brings trying to get it all done. This year, instead of trying to tackle decorating our entire home and going over the top everywhere, I decided to focus on what would bring my children joy and fill their little hearts with wonder. What better way than a homemade advent calendar?

Today, I hope you are inspired by how I made it with some simple materials and I'm also excited to give you a glimpse of our festive mantel.

Natural Bohemian Fall Mantel

Last week, I showed my most recent mantel vignette in the second part of my fall home tour. Today, I am showing you more details of how I decorated it for fall this year. It has some similarities to last year's…natural with vintage finds, but this time around with more bohemian style thrown in.

Oh, hello fall {free printable}

Fall is is pretty much here in my book (except for the extremely hot weather we are experiencing right now in Western New York), so, for me, it's time to start bringing the warmth and beauty of autumn all throughout my home. Today, I am excited to usher in fall with several other talented bloggers as we share decorating vignettes, along with free printables, for you to enjoy all season long!

I love, love, love this time of year. I really can't say it enough. So much beauty to behold and comforts that bring me back to the best memories of childhood: jumping in leaves, going to pick out pumpkins, selecting a Halloween costume, good food, family get-togethers, the scent in the air. There is pretty much nothing that I don't love about fall expect maybe that it is too short. It always seems to go by in a flash. Oh if I could just hold onto it for a bit longer. 

25+ Ways to Decorate with Affordable Vintage Finds

I love decorating with vintage finds, mostly because they have charm and character but also because I am super thrifty. I love to find a bargain. Always have and likely always will. I scour thrift stores, flea markets, antique malls, garage sales and even the side of the road to find unique and affordable (or free!) pieces. Today, I am sharing a round-up of ways that I have decorated with and repurposed some of these vintage finds in my own home.

The majority of these images have appeared in previous blog posts, so be sure to click on the links beneath each for more details!

 

You’re a Hoot {Owl Lover’s Gift Guide}

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission from any sales made through them, but the cost to you does not change. Full Disclosure.

We all know someone who loves owls don't we? I mean seriously…who doesn't? They are amazing creatures. I have quite a growing collection of owl decor around my own house. Today, I have a fun round-up of quirky products found online that would make awesome gifts for any owl lover. Or why not treat yourself if it's you?

July Dining Room Mantel Vignette

It's no secret that I like to change out my mantel decor…a lot. If you visit here regularly, your probably know this. Today, I am sharing how I just recently redid it for the month of July. I kept it fairly simple with a mixture of vintage and eclectic pieces, hints of black, potted succulents and fresh cut flowers from the yard.
We bought this old mantel from a local salvage shop and gave it a makeover a couple of years ago. It used to have very chippy brown paint. It has lived in our dining room for the past several years. Sometimes, I want to move it back to the living room where I first put it, since in my mind, it seems that is where a mantel is "supposed" to go. But whenever I look at it with our antique chandelier above it, I know this is really where it belongs.

Hazel’s Frozen 4th Birthday Party

I seriously never thought I would do character parties for my kids, but as they have gotten older and have their own interests, it would be pretty hard not to, right? So the challenge for me then? Still make it as creative and unique as possible, while keeping with the theme they love. For Hazel's fourth this year, she knew for months what kind of party she wanted. A Frozen party. And not just any Frozen party: an Elsa party.

I guess I just had to let it go about my hopes and dreams that she would choose a unicorn party (her second choice), and go with the flow of the Elsa Frozen party. 

A Cottage Style Summer Vignette {a look back to 2009}

Since I haven't had a lot of time to decorate for summer lately (other than the small bit I did on our front porch recently), I thought I would share a vignette from our former townhouse that I set up the summer of 2009. Decorating was basically my life then. I lived for creating these vignettes. Not a whole lot of time (or space) for them these days…but it is still a passion.

Life was sure easy back then. It is very different now and a lot harder in some ways, but I wouldn't go back. I love spending my days with the little ones and even though that means less time doing the things I used to do regularly, it is worth it. I hope you enjoy this "look back" at my cottage style summer vignette…

Creative Bookshelf Styling

You might recall last week, when I talked about my obsession with shelf styling? I cannot get enough inspiration for it. I am constantly swooning over images I find on Pinterest and blogs, especially being fond of everything Emily Henderson and Joanna Gains do. I love the mixture of eclectic, flea market and one of a kind finds mixed in with inspiring reads.

I have a round up today will several examples of shelf styling ideas from my own blogging friends as well as some from my very own home. I hope you enjoy these!

Styling an Eclectic Bookshelf {in the living room}

Lately, I have been obsessed with bookshelf styling. So much so that I stole a shelf from my kids' room, just to decorate it in the living room. (Don't worry, I replaced it with something else that was even more kid friendly for them). I purchased this shelf at an antique store, long before having children, and while it isn't exactly "the look" I was going for, it had the space I wanted. I will be sharing the full living room refresh later this week, as I mentioned last Friday, but today, it's all about the shelf.

You might recall the rustic shelf that was in this space previously. It has been there for a long time, and even though I love it, I felt limited with how many things I could actually "style" on it.

Styling a Rustic Shelf {with kids in mind}

Hey everybody! Life has been busy with the little ones and my grandfather, whom I love and adore, is not doing well. I have been trying to visit as often as possible, and even though he is 96, saying goodbye is never easy. Prayers are welcomed that the rest of his days are as pain free as possible and filled with peace.

Today, I am sharing a guest post that I did last month for Jennifer Rizzo with some tips for styling shelves while keeping young children in mind. As you may know, I have two preschool/toddler age children, fifteen months apart, so my decorating has changed a lot in the past few years. I still love to decorate, but have found the need to make compromises to keep my home well styled, yet safe and fun for my children. I actually enjoy the challenge of combing both elements (most of the time – finding places for all of those toys in a tight space is a challenge all its own).

Spring Easter Bunny Free Printable – “Some Bunny Loves You”

Is spring ever coming? Some days it really doesn't feel like it around here, but that doesn't keep it off my mind! Today, I have a free printable that I made to celebrate Easter and start bringing bits of the season into our home. I am joining with several other bloggers sharing free printables and vignettes for spring, hosted by Ella Claire. Be sure to visit all the others at the end!

A few weeks ago, my children were drawing at the table, when I sketched a little bunny and wrote, "some bunny loves you" at the bottom. I shared this sketch on Instagram and people seemed to like it, so I decided to work with it a bit in Photoshop to make this printable.

DIY Tribal Inspired Wall Hanging {acrylic paint stamped on drop cloth}

Even though I have been hit with the winter blues, I am forcing myself to try and get creative every day, hoping it might pull me out of my rut. We are buried deep in snow in my neck of the woods, and it is freezing outside, so between the lack of sunshine and being cooped up for months on end, I am not at the top of my game.  Life has been rough. I am working my way through it by decluttering, redecorating certain areas around the house and making some new decor pieces like the one I am going to share today: a bohemian style wall hanging painted on drop cloth fabric.

This piece was sort of a happy accident that started out as practice stamping on canvas drop cloth. I have lots of drop cloths around this place (you might have seen this post where I turned them into curtains). I was thinking of painting triangles on it, to see if I could make throw pillows, but then I just started playing around with stamps and paint and ended up with this "tribal inspired" wall hanging.

A Year of Mantel Vignettes

Today, I thought it would be fun to share all of the mantel vignettes that I created this past year. I love changing out the decor of our mantel season to season. I am still on my blogging break but got this post ready for you before, so you could enjoy it now!

Our mantel currently resides in our dining room and has for the past few years. We purchased it at an architectural salvage store right after we moved into our current home. It was painted dark brown then, but because the paint was literally chipping right off, we sanded it down and gave it a rough coat of white. Click on each of the links below to be taken to the individual posts to see all of the vignette details. I hope you enjoy this "mantel recap"!