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Christmas Mantel

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

The Holiday season is underway – yay!

Since Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – we’ve been hustling + bustling indoors and out decorating for Christmas.  This year has been a bit tricky with the kitchen renovation (walls are still being painted & the hardwood floors are still curing), but we are making do with the areas that we can add our festive favorites…

One area of our home that’s been decorated for a few weeks is the mantel.

I got the Christmas bug a few weeks ago after making my way into the Christmas section of Lowe’s and leaving with a handful of new fun finds.  They’re selection of seasonal decor this year is stellar.

I incorporated a lot of new with the old…

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

I had such a fun + relaxing (well kinda in my OCD way) time creating this years Christmas mantel.  It was enjoyable to have a different backdrop to work with since this room, specifically the fireplace wall, got a revamp for burnt orange to black earlier this year >>> check out the living room transformation

The new black wall – color: Valspar Black Heron – was the perfect backdrop to layering contrast white elements.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

I stumbled upon these adorable white houses – in varying sizes – and couldn’t resist incorporating them in the mantel.  The same houses come in red as well, but I loved the crisp white with glitter roof.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

As the base of the mantel, I used a faux greenery garland and added in real cut magnolia leaves that I got from the tree in my yard.

Adding in real leaves amongst the faux, gives such a great look.  It is a nice idea to create a realistic-looking garland without the headache of drying branches + can be used year after year.

I also added a few magnolia branches to a tall white vase to introduce an organic element + height to the fireplace.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

The sparkly reindeer is another new + fun find and if I could put my finger on a ‘theme’ for this years decor, it would be reindeer…

I snagged a few reindeer elements and I just love what they represent… a woodland, outdoorsy, winter feeling.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

On the face of the fireplace, I draped several strands of differing garland.  I picked up a beautiful pinecone garland – which was a pleasant surprise because I thought they were individual pinecones which I was going to pile in a bowl – and hung it them from end to end on the mantel.

Then using red bead garland – that I got from Dollar General years ago – I hung a longer swag from edge to edge, and finished it with a silver snowflake garland across the front.

Hung by the fireplace with care are adorable knit red + white stockings.  I just love the oversized tassels!

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Recognize the mirror?  I used it for my Thanksgiving table, then decided to use it as the focal point above the fireplace and mounted a beautiful berry wreath on the face.

Giving height and grounding each end, I added in my one of my seasonal favorites, the glitter cone-shaped trees in silver + white (check out similar ones here).  I have gold too and they’ll be someplace else in the room.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

My reindeer ‘theme’ also continued with the wrapping paper I chose.  Check out this paper with the reindeer silhouette – I couldn’t resist.  I loved pairing it with the houndstooth + striped paper.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

Throughout, I layered in new + old ornaments that added sparkle + shine.  These wood laser-cute ornaments were a surprising find this year and I grabbed a similar wood reindeer ornament version as well.

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

I am so happy with how this years Christmas mantel came out.  I had no real plan when I started decorating, but as usual when the everyday decor came down and I was left with a blank canvas, the ideas started to flow.

With some changes + tweaks, the result is pretty fantastically festive…

Christmas Mantel filled with old & new. Created by www.jennaburger.com

I can’t let you go without sharing that the annual Holiday Housewalk hosted by Jennifer Rizzo begins today!  This is the 3rd year that my home will be on the tour along with about 30 others.  You will NOT WANT TO MISS IT.  My home is coming up later in the week, so I hope you will stop back.

Holiday Housewalk hotsed by Jennifer Rizzo

Have a blessed Christmas season and thanks for checking out my mantel.

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST IS A COLLABORATION WITH LOWES, BUT ALL OPINIONS ARE 100% MY OWN.

Simple Spring Mantel

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

Goodness the last 2 weeks have been crazy busy.  Spring arrived, and off we went… sports, activities, it doesn’t stop!  I have a slew of projects that I want to share with you (and I will, no worries) from the living room makeover + more, but I haven’t had 2 seconds to pull it all together.

Anyway, when photographing the living room space last week, I couldn’t stop shooting different angles of the fireplace mantel.

For the ‘reveal’, I wanted the mantel to be fairly minimal + simple since it was more about the overall space and not just that one element.  But as I started styling the 6″ deep vignette, I couldn’t stop myself from adding layers + pretty accessories + seasonal succulents.

Knowing myself (and how I can keep anything the same for 5 minutes), it will continually change with the coming seasons + holidays, but for now, it’s perfectly set for Spring…

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

This simple, but seasonally sensational mantel is filled with accessories + layers that I already owned.  Nothing is new.

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

With every mantel creation, there has to be varying heights to create an interesting & engaging vignette. [more tips on mantel decorating here]

For this quick mantel styling, I anchored it with the rope wrapped vase I created which gives the overall composition beautiful texture.  It’s of a medium size, so it’s a good size + weight item for the end.

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

To bring height + whimsy, I filled a yellow colored glass vase with one faux flower sprig – it’s similar to a forsythia branch, but slightly different.  I adore this pretty, and very real looking, sprig!  I’ve use it a lot on the mantel, but with the new black wall, it has really taken on a completely new + different look.

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

To balance out the tall elements, I added in a few lower items too.  I wrapped three books with white copy paper (how easy?) and topped them with a small potted succulents (1 is real, 2 are fake – can you tell which is which?  bet you can’t).

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel. Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

For the backdrop of the mantel, I used my go-to tall mirror (my thrift store find that went from wood to white after I painted it) which I leaned on the wall.  Layered on top, I added in a new sign (I was wrong, one item on the mantel is new – don’t you love the quote?!) from World Market, as well as a framed fern (that I snagged from the foyer) –> tutorial on how to create framed fern art.

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel. Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

Love this… life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel. Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

The overall simple, seasonal Spring mantel…

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel.  Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

Take a step back to check out the new space.  So different from the previous! Check out the entire revamped living room.

Simple accessories + Seasonal Succulents = A perfectly styled Spring Mantel. Design by @Jenna_Burger. www.jennaburger.com

Here are some past Spring mantels…

(click on the images to go to the original post)

Spring Mantel

Spring Mantel

Happy Spring + Mantel Decorating!

Christmas Mantel

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

Happy Friday!  Boy, am I glad it is FRIDAY.  It has been a heck of a week, how about for you?

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas Home Tour that I shared yesterday.  Thank you to all those that left the kindest, sweetest comments – I can not tell you how great they make me feel.  I am really loving how festive & warm our home feels right now and I hope I was able to convey that to you throughout the tour!

As I was putting the post of The Tour together, I was left with many more photos of the fireplace mantel.  Instead of making the post miles long, I thought I would create another post on just the mantel.  I am so smitten over how the mantel resulted this year, so let me show you around.

Come join me in the family room…

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

With our tree at one end of the room and the fireplace at the other, this is such a cozy, restful place.  The mantel this year is filled with a little old and a little new.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

My approach for this years mantel was to lean and layerWhat do I mean?   From front to back, I added height with various items that I simply leaned on each other to give a layered (dimensional) look.

I started with the stained wood backdrop and added the pretty, glittery wreath I got from Lowe’s last year.  Leaning on it, I added the JOY pallet sign, which is really the focal point of the mantel.  Then I added a new chalkboard printable & the oversized wood snowflake (a roadside rescue).  It’s all about the layers!

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

The chalkboard printable is something new this year and it is a creation made by my friend KellieHow did I create it?  I saved the printable to a USB key, brought it to Staples and they printed it on blueprint paper for less than $4.  I then brought it home and framed it.  Easy-Peasy and it is a beautiful addition to the mantel.

https://www.jennaburger.com/2014/12/christmas-home-tour-2014/

For a bit of whimsy, the kids and I collected some branches from the backyard, which I used to fill a simple white vase.  It really grounds the fireplace.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

When I initially placed the vase on the mantel, the brown branches got lost against the orange wall.  To make them stand out more, I took some white craft paint and painted them.  A few minutes later, they were finished and dry.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

So pretty, right?

When decorating for this Christmas, I ended up changing the place of a few of our festive favorites.  One specific DIY creation that we all love & admire each year is the Christmas Card Holder.  This season, I chose to hang it to the right of the fireplace and it’s already starting to fill up.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

On the other end of the mantel are a few more layered-in elements that give height & interest to the overall mantel.   For the last few years, my go-to favorites for Christmas are these modern cone-shaped Christmas trees from the Christmas Tree Shop a few years back.  We have them in a few different sizes in white and gold.  I just love how sparkly they are!  And how simple, yet glowing is a bowl filled with ornaments.  A 3-second creation that is beauty to the eye!

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

This years mantel would not be complete without a WOW.  The gorgeous cedar garland truly completed this years mantel montage.  I just adore how full and organic it feels.  My idea of being inspired by nature this holiday season really came to fruition with this garland.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

I am so grateful to my friends at Lynch Creek Farm who sent me the garland, as well as the wreath for the front door.  And the smell…  I can’t even begin to explain how yummy our home smells.  I just wish you could dive through your screen to get a whiff.

Lynch Creek Farm

Here is a peek at the gorgeous wreath on the front door which you can see more of in my Christmas Home Tour.

Christmas Home Tour of Jenna Burger, one of the homes featured on the Jennifer Rizzo 2014 Holiday Housewalk

Back to the mantel…

I hung this beautiful cedar garland at each end of the mantel so it has a gentle swag in the center.  On the one side, I added a pretty red + black bow and on the other side, I hung 3 stockings that I just picked up from Lowe’s.

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

A few more views (I told you I couldn’t stop myself from photographing & sharing this mantel)…

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

 

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

From the kitchen to the dining room to the family room, you can see how the fireplace is a focal point in our home and we are truly admiring this years mantel creation…

Christmas mantel filled with old & new and lots of DIY creations!

Thanks for stopping by to enjoy my home decorated for Christmas!

Have you decorated your home for the holidays yet?

Spring Mantel with Shades of Turquoise

Last week here in Upstate NY, the weather was amazing and I soaked up every bit of sun I could get. Now it’s a little chillier, but Spring and Summer will be here before ya know it! In the midst of the gorgeous weather, I took some time to put together my new Spring Mantel.

Over the past few months, I have been introducing more cooler colors than the warmer colors that I’ve lived with for many years. So my latest mantel creation has a whole lotta turquoise, which is a beautiful and dynamic compliment to the burnt orange focal wall.

Here it is… What do you think?

Turquoise is absolutely one of my favorite colors and from my past post, Totally Turquoise, many of you love it just as much!  It was kind of risky to have the mantel be dominant in one color and when planning it out in my head, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work.  I think by including a variety of different turquoise shades, the overall composition has alot of depth and intrigue, especially with the backdrop of the burnt orange wall.  Other textures and muted colors of browns were also added within to break up the monotony.

Here’s an in depth look …

Many of the pieces that make up my new Spring Mantel have been repurposed from around my home or picked up at local stores for very little.  The turquoise glass vase on the left is something new I bought a few weeks ago at TJ Maxx.  I had already had this turquoise-mantel-idea in my head and thought this would make a perfect addition – it was taller and I knew it’d make a great ‘anchor’ piece!  The glass mason jars which I found at an estate sale last year have been showcased on my mantel before and are filled with lentils and a votive candle. To the right is a tall glass jar filled with rocks from last years vacation to the beach.  I love displaying memories and these rocks are a beautiful and quiet shade of blue…  a perfect compliment to the other bold and vibrant colors.

One of my favorite upcycling things-to-do is paint old, used glass jars – tomato sauce jars, apple sauce jars, jelly jars, any jar will do! It’s so easy and unexpected.  In the Blue Label wood box stand two sauce jars that I added a little color to (it’s actually the leftover paint from my kids bathroom cabinet).  My mantels are always about layering, so in front of the wood box is a cute little turquoise pitcher and to the right is a lantern, both of which I purchased at Homegoods.

Of course, I had to add a touch of Easter decor within my Spring mantel.  I love this egg shaped Happy Easter sign that I’ve had for years (forget where I got it), but in a few weeks once the Holiday is over, it’ll be swapped out with a new Spring sign (not sure yet what it’ll be).

Continuing to the other side of the mantel, I added a sweet distressed turquoise ceramic bird feeder.  Originally intended for my daughter’s room, its so cute and fit perfectly amongst the like colors. To “anchor” the other end, I finished the mantel with two different sized bold turquoise lanterns that I purchased from Target.  They have some awesome colors this season like lime green, hot pink, and of course turquoise.

I also whipped up some fun new pillows with accents of turquoise.

Isn’t that owl fabric so cute?!  Love it with the brown and white chevron.

And this is how the entire room looks all pulled together for Spring.  It’s so different from last year’s quieter, frappe colors.

I think this is my favorite mantel design yet!  What do you think?

Do you love turquoise just as much as I do? 

Summer Mantel with Frappe Accents

After many months, the warm weather FINALLY made it’s arrival and over the past few weeks, I’ve been sprucing up for summer.  One area of my home that I’ve been focusing on is making some updates to the fireplace mantel.

With a few simple switches and a couple DIY projects, it’s looking much lighter and summer-y!

Just to give you a peak at what it looked like before ~

The fireplace wall is quite the focal point in my home.  The wall is a burnt orange hue (the pictures distort the actual color a bit – – it’s not as bright in person), while the other walls in the room are cardboard brown.  The burnt orange color is continued throughout the space as an accent color, and can be seen in pillows, accessories, etc.  For the summer, I wanted to downplay the ‘orange’  and bring in a more neutral hue.  My new fav ~

frappe

I flipped the chalkboard platter so it’s now vertically positioned, and wrote the saying “Beautiful Blossoms” ~ I was just feelin’ cheery and thinking about the colorful flowers in the garden.  Then with a little frappe paint, I transformed an old green vase (that was sitting in the basement since we moved here) into a summer beauty!

What do you think of my new jars? I’m a lover of pasta and on occasion when I don’t have a chance to make sauce (or gravy as the true Italians call it), I buy jar sauce. I know, a sin, but out of convenience  it’s an easy substitute. Over the years, I’ve gone through quite alot of jars and have thrown all of them away (another sin), until now!

With my newly cleaned pasta jars, I painted the interiors with my frappe paint, filled them with flowers from the garden, and assembled them on the mantel. How pretty!

An inexpensive, but beautiful display.

On the other side of the mantel, I introduced one of my favorite TJ Maxx finds, the distressed $10 lantern ~ a must for summer.  Next to it, I lightened up the look with a framed “bloom” printable, along with two glass jars filled with a candle and potpourri.

And did you notice, I switched out the artwork for a mirror…another way to “lighten” things up! Here’s an overall view of the space ~

(FYI – my ottoman looks a lil’ sad, but it’s only because my 20 month old takes everything off and throws it on the floor.  I’m never one to leave an ottoman / coffee table bare)

I’m really loving the new fabrics on the pillows.  So refreshing!  Want to make your own Summer Pillows?  {check out this EASY-PEASY pillow tutorial}

I hope you enjoyed my little spruce up for summer!  Have you been doing any Spring / Summer updating?  I’d love to hear about it.

Valentine’s Mantel Decor

This week has been very busy and I took on WAY too many projects!  One positive result = I have LOTS to share with you.  My main focus was to decorate for Valentine’s (didn’t I just un-decorate from Christmas??).  To be honest, I’m really not into Valentine’s Day (doesn’t everyone say that) and I don’t usually change my decor for this somewhat minor holiday, but I had fun styling my home with a few homemade crafty creations!
Earlier this week, I posted pics of some Valentine’s ideas from other talented bloggers and I gave you a preview of the pillows (and now the mantel) that I pulled together for this LOVEly Holiday!
These cute pillows were super easy to make, especially using my all time favorite stand-by, Stitch Witch!  I own a sewing machine (thanks to my mom), but do not sew (YET!…it’s on my resolution list for 2011).  The other day, I picked up some fun V-day fabrics and accessories (ie: colorful buttons and iron-on appliques) and my creative juices started to floooow….  I had an idea in my head of the kind of pillows I wanted to create and here is the result:

The heart shape pillow is adorable, especially donning some colorful pink, orange, and yellow buttons!

And what about the L-O-V-E pillow ~ What do you think??  I used cheap inexpensive Muslin fabric ($2.50/yd) to create this vertical beauty.  I cut out the letters L, V, & E from felt and ironed them on, along with the heart applique for the O.  SIMPLE!
The other two pillows are basic sizes ~ the pink is 16:” x 16″ (which I’ll put in my daughter’s Honeysuckle colored room after V-day) and the black pillow is 8″ x 16″.  And of course the little mini….4″ x 6″
{The LOVE Mantel} 

Mostly everything on the mantel is repurposed from other places in my home. 


The candle pillars I purchased awhile ago from AC Moore ($5-$8).  The two taller pillars hold candles and the smaller version has newly made yarn balls.  They are so stinkin’ cute!!  Many of you knitters out there probably have a ton of ‘real’ yarn balls, but these are fake using styrofoam balls with yarn wrapping around (shhhh…)Jenn just did a tutorial on how to make them ~ check it out.  

Standing in front, is my latest LOVE plaque that I bought from AC Moore for less than $1.  It’s actually a picture frame, which I removed and added a little love heart. 

Adorable Valentine Subway Art ~ Get it for Yourself.
And of course, our tribute to Philly: a mini LOVE sculpture.
I dressed up the candles on the candelabra (from Willow House) using some burlap strands. 

That’s my wedding bouquet from 7 years ago….how nice to incorporate into my LOVE mantel!

LOVE the garland on my newly retiled fireplace?  I cut out hearts from white construction paper and hung it with two layers of red yarn (used from the yarn balls).
This was a really fun project to work on…I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Have you decorated your mantel for Valentine’s Day?
I’ll be linking this to Home Stories of A to Z

Valentine’s Mantel Decor

This week has been very busy and I took on WAY too many projects!  One positive result = I have LOTS to share with you.  My main focus was to decorate for Valentine’s (didn’t I just un-decorate from Christmas??).  To be honest, I’m really not into Valentine’s Day (doesn’t everyone say that) and I don’t usually change my decor for this somewhat minor holiday, but I had fun styling my home with a few homemade crafty creations!
Earlier this week, I posted pics of some Valentine’s ideas from other talented bloggers and I gave you a preview of the pillows (and now the mantel) that I pulled together for this LOVEly Holiday!
These cute pillows were super easy to make, especially using my all time favorite stand-by, Stitch Witch!  I own a sewing machine (thanks to my mom), but do not sew (YET!…it’s on my resolution list for 2011).  The other day, I picked up some fun V-day fabrics and accessories (ie: colorful buttons and iron-on appliques) and my creative juices started to floooow….  I had an idea in my head of the kind of pillows I wanted to create and here is the result:

The heart shape pillow is adorable, especially donning some colorful pink, orange, and yellow buttons!

And what about the L-O-V-E pillow ~ What do you think??  I used cheap inexpensive Muslin fabric ($2.50/yd) to create this vertical beauty.  I cut out the letters L, V, & E from felt and ironed them on, along with the heart applique for the O.  SIMPLE!
The other two pillows are basic sizes ~ the pink is 16:” x 16″ (which I’ll put in my daughter’s Honeysuckle colored room after V-day) and the black pillow is 8″ x 16″.  And of course the little mini….4″ x 6″
{The LOVE Mantel} 

Mostly everything on the mantel is repurposed from other places in my home. 


The candle pillars I purchased awhile ago from AC Moore ($5-$8).  The two taller pillars hold candles and the smaller version has newly made yarn balls.  They are so stinkin’ cute!!  Many of you knitters out there probably have a ton of ‘real’ yarn balls, but these are fake using styrofoam balls with yarn wrapping around (shhhh…)Jenn just did a tutorial on how to make them ~ check it out.  

Standing in front, is my latest LOVE plaque that I bought from AC Moore for less than $1.  It’s actually a picture frame, which I removed and added a little love heart. 

Adorable Valentine Subway Art ~ Get it for Yourself.
And of course, our tribute to Philly: a mini LOVE sculpture.
I dressed up the candles on the candelabra (from Willow House) using some burlap strands. 

That’s my wedding bouquet from 7 years ago….how nice to incorporate into my LOVE mantel!

LOVE the garland on my newly retiled fireplace?  I cut out hearts from white construction paper and hung it with two layers of red yarn (used from the yarn balls).
This was a really fun project to work on…I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Have you decorated your mantel for Valentine’s Day?
I’ll be linking this to Home Stories of A to Z