A Simple Mantel and Some Shelf Changes

I know that Monday was a bit of a cliff hanger (but where did those frames end up?!)… you probably haven’t been able to sleep all week due to the suspense. My apologies. But let’s solve that problem now, shall we?

As you know, I made out like a bandit with four lovely frames (and a few other fun trinkets) in tow last weekend after our shopping trip to Home Goods. When I got home, I set to work straight away deciding what to fill them with. We don’t have a lot of pictures around the house of us and our family, so I started there. As I said in that last post, I’ve been feeling like our rooms could use a little bit of personalizing. So I dug up a few prints we had around and stuck ’em in. Fast forward to where they ended up.

I’ve been loving the clean mantel look- fresh, light, crisp. I used the quatrefoil frame and paired it with my mercury “glass” owl and a candle from Bath and Body Works (it’s called “Black Tie”… so very suave, eh?).

That little owl has been great… he transitioned so nicely from Halloween and fall weather right into winter and early spring. Gotta love the things that can span the seasons! As for the frame, I just popped a picture of Mitch and I from a few years ago in there and we’re good to go.

On the other side, I used the blue and white “driftwood” frame with the capiz shell box, a palm frond from some Valentine’s Day flowers, and a few pine cones. Oh yeah, and an awesome gold key!

It’s neat how the look has some winter to it (owls, pine cones, moody black candle), some spring (we could even argue Palm Sunday with the greenery!), and some summer (beach-y frames and a shell box).

Let me just take a moment to dwell on that key. First off, it’s the real deal Holyfield, folks- not like the kind you can find in Michaels. One of the ladies I work with had been cleaning out her parents’ house and came across TONS of skeleton keys and various padlocks, of all shapes and sizes! She brought them all to work and we had such fun sifting through them, trying out different keys to different locks. I was thrilled to bring this beauty home. By the way, that thing is heavy. This is probably silly, but it somehow felt “real-er” because of its weight.

Anyway, back to business. You saw the mantel, so let’s look at how those shelves (first seen here and then styled here) are holding up these days…

 And because I don’t think I’ve ever given you a close up look at what was up there before, here it is (the left side): we’ve got a globe, a few books, a plant (that I’m trying desperately to keep alive), and some glass jars and shells.

I layered the new white driftwood frame against the black square for a little added interest and rearranged a few accessories. Hooray for new pictures and frames!

Ok, let’s pan right for a better look at the other set of shelves:

On the other side, I added that No. 1 box (nothing in there yet) and the quirky blue glass piece.

In addition to the newbies, we’ve got another black square frame, some more glass jars, a plant, a few books, and a light blue frame with our wedding invitation inside (a very clever and treasured wedding gift from our friends!).

Whew! Frames and trinkets galore! I still have one baby square frame left from my HG trip to fill and display, but I haven’t decided where it’s going or what’s going in it yet… someday. 🙂 For now, I’m content with where we’re at. Happy Wednesday, everyone!