Love my Man(tel)

Despite the challenging corner, I love decorating the mantel for holidays.  I always struggle with achieving a cohesive composition, and not two separate arrangements: what's below the mirror and what isn't.

My Valentine's Day mantel this year incorporates some of the same elements I used last year, as well as some new additions.

Here's what it looked like last year:

I love the wreath.  It was inspired by this that I found on Pinterest.

Yes.  It took a long time to make.  A very long time.  But was well worth it.  Not only is it lovely, it's versatile.  It can be used any time of the year, especially if you trade out the ribbon.

Another versatile element is the jewel and button covered cone atop a glass candlestick pedestal I got at Target.  It's just a felt covered cone that I hotglued my grandmother's vintage costume jewelry to.  The cone was also a part of my Christmas mantel.

I think this year's mantel is a bit further developed:

This year I added the candlesticks that I purchased at a thrift store.  They were brass when I bought them and I spray painted them silver.  I am pleased with how they turned out, and I think the additional silver elements give the mantel a bit more unity.

Also new this year are the felt flowers discovered during more Pinterest trolling.  I made these in two batches.  In the first batch I think I cut the hearts too deep - too much of a point at the bottom.  I liked the second batch a bit better because not only was the point shorter, but the sides of the heart were a bit more rounded.

I was surprised by how much the floral tape really transformed them.  They didn't look much like flowers after I first glued them, but the tape really helped to create more authenticly shaped flowers.

Of course, another take away from this project is the color of the felt...  The really saturated colors did not yield themselves to the same realness more natural and earth tones would.  The inspirational flowers looked more real.  

You may also notice that I only used three heart shapes on my flowers, while the inspiration sometimes used four.

Finally, if you make your own flowers, be careful.  It is very easy to burn yourself while making these little blossoms.

The vintage Valentines are displayed a bit differently this year as well.  I just used painter's tape to adhere them to the cording and hopefully it can be removed without damaging the back of the Valentines.  They're one of my favorite parts of the mantel.

I love the vintage Valentines!  They're so clever and just plain awesome.

Finally, I was surprised by how many temporary hangers hung with poster strips I used to put this together.  They were really helpful and unexpectedly critical.