It’s summer mantel time- yay!
We had a ball putting together our adventure/sea-themed display this year…
As always, our goal was to create something fresh & fun to enjoy for the season, using free, inexpensive, or handmade items, and things we already had around the house.
We spent about $8 on the “have an ADVENTURE” art…
It’s just made up of two wood dowels, some leftover wood stain, an old piece of dropcloth material, some twine, and a couple beads of hot glue. The phrase decal came from Leen The Graphics Queen.
In a nutshell, we just cut out a (good) section of dropcloth (from one of our old dropcloths) that would fit above our mantel.
We decided to work on the side without any paint marks on it, then we ironed it smooth, primed it, pencil drew a United States shape on it, and painted it with Moonlight White and Southern Breeze paint. A little hot glue and a couple of wood dowels later…boom! Art with heart!
We also made the little sailboat on the left side of the mantel…
It’s made out of wood from our backyard, a piece of scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby, and two little triangles of denim from one of my old pairs of jeans. We just drilled a hole in the middle of the big chunk of wood and filled it with hot glue. While the glue was still wet, we stuck the twig down in it and waited for it to dry. The paper sails and denim flag are also held in place with hot glue.
Everything else was stuff we had around the house. Flea market finds, glass containers, candles, craft sand, driftwood sailboats, and seashells…
(white and ticking stripe sailboat: White Flower Farmhouse)
We got the bottle at Ikea last year. I just poured in some craft sand (Hobby Lobby), and embellished it with a small white pencil starfish, some twine, and a piece of an old Atlas we had in our car. (We love that part of Florida! I’ve got family in Pensacola, and we honeymooned in Seaside.)
I also wrapped a couple of our votive candle holders with pieces of our old map…
I got a whole set of the fish plates at a flea market last year, and just couldn’t resist propping one up there, too…
And last but not least, I filled our (non-working) firebox with some more goodies we had around the house. A vintage locker basket filled with books, a wicker picnic basket, and a soda crate…
My favorite “goodie” is the one on the far left though. He makes decorating so much more fun!
PS- If you blogged about a Summer-themed display, or you’re looking for some more Summer-y inspiration, I hope you’ll swing by this coming Monday for our Summer Fun link party!
i’m feelin’ the breezy attitude of your mantle! so nice that you showed me how to do something similiar. yes, the kitty is my fav addition, too.
i’m new to your site and hard work, inspiring design and very helpful guidance. there is so much to read n see; you’ve made me very happy.
thank you!
gidget
Looks fabulous (love the sign/banner). I know that the sea theme is always a popular one, but it seems even more so this year. I see beach/sea related items in nearly every store, and of course I have my own vignettes going on. lol
Seeing your sweet sailboat reminds me that there’s one I want to make.
With all of the remodeling and other stuff that I’ve got going on, it’s nice to come here and get inspired, because sometimes the ‘big picture’ gets a little overwhelming.
your mantel is so fun!! I love all the details. I ‘ll be back on Monday.
I love, love the map idea and your sailboat! Genius!
Great mantel and love your banner.
It’s the time of year when you dream of sand between your toes. I live in Florida very close to the Gulf so I can enjoy it year round but there is something about June that makes you want the beach. Love that you have a lettered olive shell. That is one of our favorite to hunt for when we walk along the Gulf beaches.
Oh Layla girl… you constantly blow my mind with your creativity! I love it. I think I’ve given up on ever having a mantle of my own… but I sure enjoy the cuteness of yours.
Blessings,
Sasha
Gorgeous as always. Love how summery it feels. You’ve inspired me to pull a load of things out of my bathroom to use on my mantel!
One question – you must amass so many ‘props’ (for want of a better word) as you change things up so often – where do you keep them all? I don’t have that much stuff but find it really hard to store all the stuff that is seasonal.
Sam x
Love all the touches ,,, especially the sailboat you made and the white and blue ticking sail boat. Oh, and your favorite accessory that I almost missed until you point him out. Too funny how he can hide in plain sight.
And I have to say that I think your link party button is my favorite ever … Seriously cute!
🙂
Linda
What a sweet summer mantel – brings back vacation memories. Love the art and sailboats!
I Love it all. I seriously would not have found a place to create a lovely summer mantel if it wasn’t for you. The post will go live tomorrow and I will link to your party and then my shelf will go back to being a shelf. Thank you for the inspiration.
I scored a last minute ticket to Haven and can’t wait to see you in action. 🙂 Have a wonderful week.
Karah
thespacebetweenblog.net
Pretty, beachy, perfect! Love it all and the kitty 🙂
Wow.. It’s all so inspiring. I love your blog and am a new follower now. Oh and that accessory is exactly like one I have at home (his name is jasper) I’m sure he appears somewhere in my blog lazing around.
Bec x
You two are the most creative things! I get so much inspiration from you. Hoping to meet you at Haven.
What did you use to paint the inside of your fireplace? I desperately need to paint ours, especially after seeing how great that black looks next to your white. I recently painted our fireplace white and would love to beef up the mantle but it’s on a long list of to dos! Thanks!
Love your summer mantel, especially with the coastal elements! Your boats are too cute … love the scattered shells, and the art you two created above is fabuous! Great vignette (especially with your furry baby) in your firebox!
This is so fun, Layla! Love it! 🙂
Hi Layla,
Love the mantel! Probably because it reminds me a lot of my entryway. I have three of those fish plates in various shades of turquoise that I hung above a mirror and made one of those sailboats last summer from driftwood collected on one of many walks with some gorgeous outdoor fabric I found in shades of turquoise, navy, and green.
I often think if we lived in the same neighbourhood (or country) we would totally be buds. Reading your blog is like chatting with a girlfriend.
Enjoy the sunshine!
I love it, especially the travel theme. The map is ingenious!
It’s so beautiful!!! I LOVE it! Such a great contrast to yours in the past. It looks very unique and summery fresh 🙂
Love the hanging map art, so awesome! It all turned out beautifully.
Your summer mantel looks fabulous 🙂 Love that you used such clean and neutral colors for the mantel! Great post!
You two are just too creative, such neat ideas. I love your sense of play and that you decorated especially for summer. Just love the bottle with sand, twine and map. So clever. Really enjoyed looking at your page.