This post may be a bit picture heavy. There’s been a whole lot of mantel switch ups going on around here!
Remember how my mantel look in December? And remember how I mentioned that one of my favorite things about it was that it would be so easy to transition into January?
Well it was! All I did was take off the Christmas garland and replace the silver Christmas tree with this pretty vase and winter-y pine cone twig from Z Gallerie. (On a side note, Z Gallerie is so hit and miss for me. Some things in that store I love and a lot of other things I can definitely do without.) Funny because I bought the pine cones during December knowing I would use them somewhere in my house in January. Then I hunted so many stores looking for the perfect vase to hold them. Couldn’t find anything I liked anywhere and then I finally went back to Z Gallerie looking for something else. And there she was. My perfect aqua vase. She had been waiting for me there all along. :)
I love this vase. And the silver pine cone twig.
Which has some shimmery glitter on it that sparkles in the light.
And ties in so perfectly with my shimmery silver wreath.
And with my shimmery basilica pillar Pottery Barn candles.
A whole lot of shimmery is going on.
Kept the birds up. They’ve become fast friends. :)
So three cheers for an easy January mantel! I love this mantel decor because it is simple and clean. And I’m all about simple and clean. In case any of you didn’t already know that about me. :) I think I also love it because we don’t have winter here. This mantel decor brings a little winter inside. Even if it’s 77 degrees and sunny outside like it was today.
In fact, I liked my quick and easy January mantel so much that I really wasn’t ready to take it down yet. So I hung a heart from the wreath and called it my Valentines mantel.
My Valentines mantel and I were getting along just swimmingly. In fact, we were kind of in love. Until my girls came home and saw it. And they said – “Mom. That is NOT a Valentines mantel.”
Remember my Valentines mantel last year? Well they wanted to know where the heart wreath was. And the tissue heart garland. And the candy. Of course. The candy!
We can’t have a Valentines mantel without the candy.
(Sorry birds. You weren’t cutting it with the kids.)
So I combined a few things from my favorite Valentine mantel and the kids’ favorite Valentine mantel and came up with this.
Less black. More white. And aqua.
The aqua looks a bit like a loner color on the mantel but ties in nicely with the rest of my house.
I tossed my tulips in a white pitcher. And gave my girls their candy.
Then I put up the heart garland that we made last year,
hung the wreath and switched my winter candles for some red ones.
And now my girls are happy.
Me? I’m kind of missing my vase and birds. I’m sure they’ll find their way back soon.
Like after we’ve eaten all the candy.
Which won’t take long. :)
Which one is your favorite?
xoxo, Erin
AHH! I love it!
I have to tell you, I am literally DROOLING over your aqua pretties!!
I just did a post about how obsessed I am with that color. I just really really love it!
Your mantel looks fab as always!! :)
wowwwwww beautiful!
Love how it turned out. Love the aqua and red together. I can see the birdies coming back for spring and Easter!
Love your girls input and shows how much our kids love our efforts, too! My mantle is seeming pretty drab with earthtones year round. You are inspiring me to rethink.
Love your mantels. In fact everytime you do a mantel post I bug my husband about needing to install a fireplace here ;) I think my favourite is the January set up.
I definitely love the January set -up for sure but Valentines is short so you could go back to it for a bit. ya know, just to please the littles : )
I wouldn’t have thought of aqua and red together, but it really works well! Especially because you can see some aqua pieces reflected in the mirror! Very creative! Love it!
I really like the new Valentine’s mantel compromise. But if you think the aqua vases look lonely, you could always add in some aqua candies to the dish…just a thought. And I would go ahead and put the birds back in. You could set them next to each other like “love birds”. I am always amazed at the cute seasonal decor you do! I am one of those who only switches it up for Christmas and that’s it…so boring.
I like them BOTH! Really love how it turned out with the touch of aqua in with the red and white. The birds and vase are gorgeous too though. I liked my snow sparkle I had going on, but was ready for a change in my mantel too. :-)
How fantastic. It looks lovely. Oh how I wish I had a mantel to decorate. I’m thinking of making my sideboard into something like this and changing it with the seasons.
I don’t think I have a favorite, I like all of them! (Although, I do agree with your girls that the one little heart looked a little sad there all by itself!)
The winter mantel is fabulous! I love that color of blue. The wreath is super cute too! Happy to find you today. :) Shan@FamilyBringsJoy
Loving January also. I’m with “Simply LKJ” I can see those birdies coming back before Christmas. I like how you try things outside of the box. I wouldn’t have thought that aqua and red could look so pretty.
I love your mantel. I have a question about how you store your candles from year to year? I never burn mine all the way and need a good storage solution to keep them pretty till the next year.
Thanks everyone!!
Becky – I’ll show you in an upcoming post where I store my candles. It’s nothing fabulous, but they are all together in one place. :)
I love them both! I am also a big fan of teal and red! So pretty together…but I do have to agree with your girls your winter mantel wasn’t cutting it for Valentine mantel…Your girls are too cute.
Super cute! My SIL uses the same candy year after year. She buys it an immediately sprays it with Lysol so she won’t eat it. Her kids are old enough to know not to eat it too and it works for her!
I’ve been thinking about your valentine garland since your big Better Homes and Garden news! I’m really hoping to find some time to make one with the kids, they would LOVE it! And I have no Valentine Decor. None. At all. Can you even believe that? I know, you can’t. I need some badly.
I like your last year’s mantel the best! I think the black and the red look darling together. But the look I love for this year, is the aqua and red, like your kids like. :) Last year I made the cutest garland in Red and aqua, so I do love the look of the Red and aqua, I guess I’m just a more traditional girl. Love you Erin.
Super Lovin it! Love the bird!!!
look, sorry about the blur thing, it makes total sense, I was being out of line, sorry
I love the white and aqua!! Much brighter and more fun than the black!
I love them all! I think my favorite is the first Valentine one, with the heart in the silver wreath! but they all look great!
Hi Erin! I LOVE each variation of your Valentine mantel, but I must admit – I like the black and red the best. I think it looks the most traditional. From this year’s selection, I like the one you settled on – the red, white and aqua…Beautiful!!
So how did you make your heart garland?
Can you tell me how to make the heart garland? My kids would lOve this!!!
Hi Heather!
I explained how to make the heart tissue garland in this post here:
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2011/01/valentine-mantel.html
Hope that helps! :)
Where did you get the little silver birdies? They’re adorable! I just L-O-V-E your Valentines mantel. I always forget how much I love aqua!
Thanks Kate! I got the birds at a store in Utah called Tai Pan. I know – so cute, right!? :)