Hmmmm......What is on my mind today?
Acorns and Manzanita.
Of course where I live there are lots of Oak Trees, Pine Trees, Manzanita Trees, Maple Trees, Cypress and even a few Redwoods.
We are almost at 3500 ft elevation so it is an area that is referred to as a mixed forest. It is the perfect elevation before the forest transitions primarily to a coniferous forest. It provides a spectacular fall and then of course in winter we get just the right amount of snow.
This mixed forest affords an amazing opportunity to gather items that a perfect for holiday decor.
There is an abundance of different types of pine cones, berries, leaves, trees and of course acorns. All of these elements can bring texture, color and that little bit of surprise to your table, mantel or even your walls.
Acorns and Manzanita.
Of course where I live there are lots of Oak Trees, Pine Trees, Manzanita Trees, Maple Trees, Cypress and even a few Redwoods.
We are almost at 3500 ft elevation so it is an area that is referred to as a mixed forest. It is the perfect elevation before the forest transitions primarily to a coniferous forest. It provides a spectacular fall and then of course in winter we get just the right amount of snow.
This mixed forest affords an amazing opportunity to gather items that a perfect for holiday decor.
There is an abundance of different types of pine cones, berries, leaves, trees and of course acorns. All of these elements can bring texture, color and that little bit of surprise to your table, mantel or even your walls.
My mantel hasn't been decorated for the holidays yet so gathering items for my mantel was top on my list today.
So naturally I looked outside for inspiration and I started gathering things for my mantel.
So naturally I looked outside for inspiration and I started gathering things for my mantel.
Once I had gathered some things I got out the white spray paint and went to town painting these Manzanita branches
White.
I used two different colors of white spray paint. A bright white and another color called
Blossom White.
I was really liking how this was starting to look.
In between spraying the Manzanita I took that cute little red basket and went out to gather Acorns. I need quite a few of them and now is the perfect time to find Acorns with those cute little caps in tact.
image credit
I gathered quite a few and now they need to dry so I can use them in my Mason Jars.
If you want to know what you need to do to dry Acorns you can read that here.
HOW TO DRY ACORNS
I will be layering the Acorns in the Mason jars with votive candles.
image credit
After the painted manzanita dried I started assembling my mantel.
Because I haven't painted the wall over the fireplace yet
I felt I needed to have some white on the wall.
(FYI the reason I haven't painted that wall yet is because at the peak of the wall the ceiling is 18 feet high......and Oh my that is really tall and really scary....I hope to attempt it after Thanksgiving.)
I took down a large canvas painting and replaced it with three white framed mirrors.
I also assembled white candles, white pumpkins and clear glass jars.
The secret to a mantel display is to have a focal point and then form a
triangle around that focal point.
The items placed on either side of the focal point can be
symmetrical or asymmetrical
depending on your preference.
Here are a couple of examples:
Symmetrical styled mantel
Image credit
Asymmetrical styled mantel
Image credit
Aren't these images inspiring!!!
I haven't finished with my mantel yet but here is a picture of what it looks like so far.
Blossom White.
I was really liking how this was starting to look.
In between spraying the Manzanita I took that cute little red basket and went out to gather Acorns. I need quite a few of them and now is the perfect time to find Acorns with those cute little caps in tact.
I gathered quite a few and now they need to dry so I can use them in my Mason Jars.
If you want to know what you need to do to dry Acorns you can read that here.
HOW TO DRY ACORNS
I will be layering the Acorns in the Mason jars with votive candles.
After the painted manzanita dried I started assembling my mantel.
Because I haven't painted the wall over the fireplace yet
I felt I needed to have some white on the wall.
(FYI the reason I haven't painted that wall yet is because at the peak of the wall the ceiling is 18 feet high......and Oh my that is really tall and really scary....I hope to attempt it after Thanksgiving.)
I took down a large canvas painting and replaced it with three white framed mirrors.
I also assembled white candles, white pumpkins and clear glass jars.
The secret to a mantel display is to have a focal point and then form a
triangle around that focal point.
The items placed on either side of the focal point can be
symmetrical or asymmetrical
depending on your preference.
Here are a couple of examples:
Symmetrical styled mantel
Image credit
Asymmetrical styled mantel
Image credit
Aren't these images inspiring!!!
I haven't finished with my mantel yet but here is a picture of what it looks like so far.
I am going to fill the jars with something.....
I just haven't figured out what that something is yet.
I also want to layer some kind of textural element over the wood...
and I haven't figured that out yet either......
But you can be certain that
my mind
will be thinking of several options.
I just haven't figured out what that something is yet.
I also want to layer some kind of textural element over the wood...
and I haven't figured that out yet either......
But you can be certain that
my mind
will be thinking of several options.
2 comments:
What a beautiful job you did. Love white pumpkins and the manzanita branches are wonderful painted!!
Pretty good article. I just stumbled upon your site and I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog articles. I'll be subscribing to your feed anyway and I hope you'll post again soon. Big thanks for the valuable information.
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