Fall Mantle 2012

We are now in the midst of fall. However, I hope you have a Halloween mantle up! You can see mine here. However, after Halloween I start will my fall/Thanksgiving mantle. This was actually taken last year on Thanksgiving day. For Thanksgiving we hosted my parents, and four of our friends. I had to work so I got out of kitchen duty, but I was home early enough to eat!

Here you can see  the wreath centerpiece, the leave garland and my "give thanks" decoration.

 Different color candles are quick and easy decoration to change out for fall. All of the craft stores seem to stock them, just be sure to buy them when they are either on sale or use 40% off coupon! I like these candlesticks as they have a bit of decoration, but since they are clear, they can be used for just about any holiday. I bought these piece by piece with 40% off coupons. Eventually I think I'd like to also get a simple black set so that I can have some variety.

 To fill apothecary jars inexpensively use nature. Here I'm using pine cones I collected from outside my friend's house. I put a couple of fake leaves that had fallen off of the garland too. For the other jar I have decorated cupcake wrappers. These can be found inexpensively at craft stores. They can be a little cumbersome to place, but they give added color and texture.

In addition to my mantle I also frequently decorate this buffet table in our living room. You can see this is also where we store our games. I have purchased fake flowers to match several of my holiday decorations that I put in the glass vase. Again, the vase is versatile enough to use for just about every holiday. I was searching for a long time for a cornucopia. I was able to find this one at hobby lobby and purchased the little fake pumpkins and items to fill it. 

Finally, as Christmas season is starting in the major craft stores, be on the look out for ornaments that are colored for other holidays. This year I used pine cones and cupcake wrappers to fill my apothecary jars, but as you can see in my Valentine's Day and Halloween mantles, I frequently use colored Christmas ball ornaments.