Decorating the Mantel

Hey! Ya'll okay today?  Good!  I wanted to share a couple of photos of my mantel.

 



I got real lucky this past summer and ran across this very old mirror.  It's really very fragile and I don't believe it can be hung on the wall anymore as its so old and the frame is barely holding it.  But I knew when I saw it this mirror it would look good leaning against the wall over the mantel.  It has places where the mirror has faded away ,which I love, that makes it so rich with history and gives it such a time worn patina.

 

My greatgrandmother was an artist and this is one of her paintings.  I love the red in it and it being a flower, but it is very sentimental to me as well. I don't know what kind of flower that is, do you?  I would love to hear from you if you have any ideas!  I found the two plates at a consignment store.  The green plate is stamped Autumn Leaves Hand Painted with a Royal stamp.  The other plate with the white background said Very Old Plate on the tag when I bought them.

 

 



The hydrangeas were from our hydrangea bushes last summer.  I dried them out and was able to really put them use!  Oh and the fancy lamps!!  I know, aren't they something?!!  I got those girls at the dollar store!  I had a lamp that I really loved but broke it when I was rearranging one day.  (Sometimes I am like a bull in a china shop!)  It had those really pretty globes on them with the fringe.  I really have a thing for fringe!  Well, I really didn't want to let those globes go, so on a whim I said what the heck I am going to try this.  And I stuck each one on the dollar store lamps, and they fit!!

 

The wooden bowl pedestal was my grandmother's.  I turned it upside down and put the green bowl on top of it.  The green bowl was my mother-in-law's.  The bowl went with the color of the hydrangeas so well.  I put some I had left over at the base of the wooden pedestal.  I like this for almost any time of the year.  But my husband insists I move it when we have a fire going in the fireplace as they would catch on fire so easily.

Thank goodness we are through with the cold weather now(as I cross my fingers) and won't have to worry with a fire.

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Thanks,

Jan

Sofas Ready for Spring

With all the new Spring gorgeousness happening  outside I decided it was time to pull out my pillow covers and get my Spring look going on the sofas.

How does that saying go?  Too much is just enough!  That's me! Got flowers blooming everywhere.  I dare you to be in a bad mood in here.  There's nothing in here you won't see outside growing soon.I moved the sofa that sits in front of the double windows in the winter over to the corner so I can see all the activity outside.  The birds and squirrels love the feeder and really put on a show.  We have some crazy squirrels that like to stare you down.  They climb down to the bottom branch of the tree right outside the window and stare into the room. I had these pillow covers made a couple of years ago and still love them.  They all have varying shades of blue, red and green in them.  I don't do matchy matchy as I like to copy nature.  I know a lot of the trends now are neutral and if that works for you I say good for you!  But I love lots of color and pattern like the seasons we are going into! This first photo shows the pillow covers I usually have on the sofa year round.