Autumn Mantel

Hello my friends!  I got my fall mantel finished, and hubby was kind enough to take pictures for me last night.  Believe me, I've tried taking pictures of this mantel on several occasions with very sad results.  ;)  This is the WORST SPOT to take pictures because it gets no direct light.  Hal uses something similar to a softbox to reflect his flash, but he has to get everything just so because of the light reflecting off the picture above the mantel.

I love the way the mantel turned out this year.  I wanted it to look more natural and woodsy than previous fall mantels, and I think the finished result is pretty close.

For starters, I used a green and white ceramic pitcher that belonged to my maternal grandmother and filled it with pheasant feathers.  

The pitcher is decorated with a raised design that looks like a tavern scene from old England.  I think the silk grape leaves look very realistic, and I love the curling tendrils on the "grape vine".  I cut these from a fall garland I bought some years ago.  I've interspersed green moss balls among the leaves to add more texture and color.  The hemp pumpkin came from Michael's.

For the centerpiece of the mantel, I've used a shed antler found by my father-in-law when he was mowing his field a few years ago.  He later found two more, and my mother-in-law kindly shared them with me and my sister-in-law.  I had priced shed antlers on eBay, and they're more than I wanted to pay.  I was thrilled to get this!

I've used the pumpkin pottery bowl on my fall mantel in previous years; it was made in Italy and purchased at HomeGoods.  In the past, I've hung our winter snow scene above the mantel before adding the fall decor, but this year I wanted to keep some green in the vignette for a while longer.  After all, it's still quite warm here.  :)  I really like the look of this picture with the fall pieces.

To the right of the mantel, you can see the horse brass we got when we were in England many years ago.  I love it, and it fits that narrow space perfectly.

To anchor the other end of the mantel, my new eBay find -- these antique barley twist candlesticks.  They're English oak and stained a medium dark color.  They have such a rich, satiny finish, and they're actually lighter than they look in this picture.  I just love them!!  I've been looking for some for awhile, and I feel like I'll get lots of use from these.

So that's our autumn mantel this year; I think this is my favorite one yet.  What fall touches have you added to your home?  Thanks so much for your visit -- I do appreciate your interest.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Denise