Candy Corn and Glam Fall Mantel

For those of you that have viewed my blog and my house pictures are probably thinking, where is the style? That is the point though.  My house is SERIOUSLY lacking any style. We downsized when we moved here and most of our furniture styles (hubby and me) never have matched so it has been a long time coming for me to break out and give our home some style and you get to witness it with me. :)

So, today I finally decorated my mantel for FALL. Of course there always has to be something with glitter on it! (love glitter). Most of the stuff I re-purposed from other places in the home but a few things are new like the sparkly pumpkins that I found at Michael's and Dollar Store!

The glass vase is not new, but I did empty it, clean it, and add the ultimate thing that screams fall... CANDY CORN! (Let's see if I can keep my husband from eating all of it). Next I took the mirror off the wall and leaned on the mantel to make it work better and layered with the J picture (Letter corresponding to our last name) I got a few years ago that was hanging in my hall. I then added a lot of dry sticks (some left over from my wreath) into an existing flower arrangement. I also added some pine cones from my yard which I also luvv to use in decorations this time of year.. one to the mantel and the other I hung from the candy corn vase with some crafting twine (It still needed something even with the candy corn inside). The candlesticks I had in a box and hadn't used and simply pulled them out to add some shine and added my SPARKLY new pumpkins to them. The branch which really is my favorite, is from one of my floor vases in my home. I love this branch and it screams fall, so I removed it and added behind the J and mirror to add interest and hung another SPARKLY leaf I found at the dollar store! Last but not least the candle on the mantel is actually from the sconces that were on the wall next to my mantel. I took them down and used the glass insert and candle by adding it on the mantel (way to use what you have to decorate...)

All and all I spent hardly any money... 4 bags of candy corn (99 cents each bag at dollar store and 2 pumpkins were from the dollar store which were a dollar each and the glitter leaf was a dollar as well.. and then the two larger pumpkins on the candlesticks were from Michael's and they were 40% off all fall decorations so got them both together for under $10.

Well... what do you think?

It is a huge improvement from the previous mantel which is boring and lacked any style. This will stay until after Thanksgiving then I will decorate the mantel for Christmas... (don't worry there will be just as much if not MORE sparkles to that one too)

Hope you enjoyed my mantel makeover ... (Oh.. and I cant keep my hands out of the Candy Corn!)

DIY Fall Wreath Under $15

Fall is here officially and time to create my wreath.

I don't know about you but I can never find wreaths that are just right for what I want and I also wont pay a lot for a wreath. This year the wreaths in my local stores seem to have NO personality to them so time to create my own. I always do my own Christmas wreaths but this year, I am inspired by fall and want to create my own... on a budget of course.

I first went to my local Michael's store and found they were having a fabulous 50% to 60% off fall décor!! I picked up a wreath (I just adore the wood twine wreaths pre-made) and picked a selection of fall bushes pieces and some fall twine I liked.. with gems! I love all things shiny..

The total cost was under $15 dollars. I don't buy the small pieces, I find bushes that have different types mixed in and pull it apart... definitely saves you money!

To do your own wreath you really do not need much supplies:

Wire cutters
craft twine
hot glue gun

Here are my decorative supplies I bought:

Twine wreath (love these - great alone or decorated in a home) SALE $3.95
2 bushes of fall colors (oranges and wheat colors) Cost: (1/2 off) final cost $6
1 flower piece Cost: (1/2 off) final cost $1
1 large holiday decor twine with gems and shiny beads: Cost (1/2 off) final cost $3.99
Total Cost for all decorations: $14.94

You really do not need a lot of decoration for the wreath if you buy bushy pieces as you see here in back, that bush made a ton of separate pieces after cutting with wire cutter to spread around my wreath.

I pulled the bushes apart and now have ton of decoration now

The small pine cones I had from a Christmas wreath I did, but if I didn't have them still I would have went out and collected some in my backyard. I love PINE CONES.. they look great this time of year for all decorations, especially mixed in glass vases with pops of color like red berries, tinsel or decorated with glitter!! (this girl loves all things sparkly and shiny)

I then simply intertwined the pieces into the twine wreath and used my hot glue gun for those stubborn pieces. Here is the transformation from the first step.

I was almost tempted to stop here and buy a ton more of this shiny bead twine. Maybe will do a similar one for my garage door using just beads!

 Adding wheat pieces to the sides allowing it to spray out to create dramatic effect.

 Adding the flower pieces in bright orange and reds

Then adding the fuller pieces and the pine cones using hot glue gun.

I luvvv the final product! Everyone has their own style and I can never find a wreath I like, so making one to fit my style is the perfect solution.

Here is the final product on my door, but don't mind the UGLY door.. next project is to redo that door!

Get inspired and create your own wreath!

Thanks for viewing my post...

-Crafty Realtor