Fall Mantel 2012

I'm a little bit of a book worm and in a way my mantel is a bit of an 'ode to books'.  There is nothing I like better in Autumn than sitting curled up by the fire with a mug of tea, wrapped in comfy throw, reading a good book.

My fall mantel

I love the look and feel of old, antique books.  I love that the colors may be a bit faded and the spine a bit frayed and the pages a bit frail.

Antique books, feathers and decoupaged pumpkins

So here are the decoupaged pumpkins I shared with you on Friday.

and here:

Decoupaged pumpkin

One of my favorite pieces on the mantel is a trophy from Harvard.  I found it at our Take it or Leave it at the dump and thought it was just such a special piece:

Harvard Trophy

I'm not sure if you can read the inscription, but it says: "Harvard Scrub Hockey, 1915-16 won by the Hard Boiled Eggs, OT Wagner."  Well, I don't know who the Hard Boiled Eggs are or who O T Wagner is but thought it was just so sweet.  I think it may have to go on a shelf in John or Conor's room once winter rolls around.  For now, it is filled with feathers and sitting on top of books.  I got lovely antique spectacles at Interior Consignments in North Scituate.

Harvard trophy, books and antique spectacles

Also included are some wonderful crows I picked up at the dollar tree - can you believe they were only a $1 a piece?  I love how they give the mantel a bit of a Halloween look.

Crow and books

And here are a couple on top of my beloved Silver Pennies poem book:

The feathers were from Savers for $1.99:

I also love how this Target candle holder (which I already had) can be filled with anything to reflect the season.  Right now it is filled with pottery shards found on the beach, a feather and a white pumpkin.

A little 'witches' broom from my childhood - my mom used to always put it out on Halloween with a witch:

'witches' broom

And the pumpkins we made last year - I love how they got all crackled from the heat of the attic:

And here's how the whole mantel looks together:

Source List:

- Antique Books: Savers (some I already owned)

- Small decoupaged pumpkins - got the basic pumpkins from Dollar Tree and decoupaged myself.

- Black Crows: Dollar Tree

- Tea Light Holder: Target

- Feathers: Savers

- Candles and Tea Lights: Ikea

- Green pumpkin: Michaels 2011

- White Jac-o-Lanterns with Martha Stewart decals: Michael's

- Harvard Trophy: Take it or Leave it, Scituate Transfer Station

- Antique Spectacles: Interior Consignments in North Scituate

I'm really looking forward to curling up by this mantel with a good book! Be sure to stop by on Wednesday for a giveaway from one of my favorite Etsy shops!

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