A Vignette for the Mantel

This is actually a follow-up on my last post. As I mentioned in that post, I returned home with two pieces of artwork that I immediately framed.

Both of these pieces were done with tinted shaving cream and toothpicks by...

my four and five year old grandsons.

It turns out, the colors were great in my dining room.

Over the mantel seemed like the best spot for them. But that meant a little rearranging.

I was already tired of polishing the silver trays layered in the firebox. I guess that is pretty obvious by the tarnish you see in this photo.

I replaced the silver trays with the floral painting from the top of the mantel. That was easy enough.

I took the frameless mirror that was already on the mantel tried it with it's original frame. My thought was to paint the frame but, I decided I wanted a more contemporary look and even painted white, this was not going to work. I searched Home Goods for a replacement but came home empty handed.

It was then that I remembered this mirror. My friend, Sally, offered it to me on my last visit to her house. At first I declined because I really had no place for it, but she kept encouraging me to take it, so I did. I offered it to my son, my daughter, my niece, and even put it on my last garage sale. But, for reasons unknown, it was still in my possession. I decided to give it a second chance and brought it into the house.

I might mention this mirror is quite heavy and hanging it on an outside wall (plaster and brick) might be a little challenging. On an effort scale of ten, I would call it a seven. Not only was the method of hanging it a bit difficult, but getting it perfectly level wore the patience of everyone involved a little thin. I will skip the trial and error process as I really don't want to relive it.

But, finally success.

Then came the hanging of the artwork. I moved both pieces twice before I was satisfied with their location.

Thank goodness these are small, lightweight, and easy to move.

I also wanted to keep the candles and the antlers so I experimented with those for awhile.

I finally settled on centering them in front of the mirror. (excuse the blurry photo, please)

I am still thinking of something small to fill in around the base of the candle sticks.

But for now, I'm content with the cleaner look.

BEFORE

AFTER

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On The Upswing

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