Number Fifty-Three: Late Autumn Mantel

Alright. I have no explanation for my lack of blogging last week. Except that I had a lot on my plate. And a sinus infection and the very thought of getting something camera worthy to share overwhelmed me. But, luckily, this weekend, I was on fire completing projects left and right (with the help of massive amounts of coffee). Which, is good because I have a ton due this week and a ton to share with you all.

One thing I did was change up my mantel for late autumn. With Halloween now past, I was tired of looking at the black candles and bat garland and wanted to go with something more earthy and natural.

I filled a large glass vase with dried gourds. The large one on top was a super lucky $.25 tag sale find last spring. The remainder were swiped/borrowed/stolen from my mom. I knew I needed more to fill the vase and hadn't preplanned any of this so I was thinking, who has the most ridiculously large collection of dried gourds...that would be my mom. By the way, I shared a picture of her mantel on my Facebook page yesterday, and am going to attempt to find the time to photograph her autumn home to share with you all next week. Its awesome!

I filled an old sugar mold with dried corncobs...

...and added in a plaster skull I found a while back at an antique mall.

You can see a little bit of the wood bead garland I made a while back here. I just love all the different textures and materials in this shot.

On the other side of the mantel I added some vintage brass candlesticks (some of my fave things to decorate with) and a tiny wax pumpkin.

And, yes, my creepy oil painting is still hanging (although she might come down for the Christmas holiday).

I'm super excited to share more of my late autumn home with you! On Thursday, I'll be sharing my Thanksgiving dining room table as part of the Blogger Stylin' Home Tour Series. Be sure to stop by!