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Friday, November 2, 2012

november mantle + yarn wrapped garland

I've tucked away (most) of the Halloween decorations, and I've kept out the general Fall decorations.  But the mantle needed a little something extra for November.  The littles and I have been picking up acorns and pine cones galore on our afternoon walks, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate them into a garland.  I found a few sticks, drew inspiration from a Martha project, and decided to wrap up the sticks in some ombre yarn!  If you'd like to make your own to tie into a garland, or to just stick in a vase, here is what you'll need.
1.  Some sticks!
2.  Yarn of your choice.  I chose both the burgundy/red/green and the turquoise/sand/brown yarns.
3.  Glue gun.

Start with a dot of glue on the stick, and after securing the end to the glue, start wrapping your yarn.  You'll want to pull tightly.  I added glue along the way to keep the yarn secured.  Once you get started, it's not hard at all.  I did two large sticks for a vase, and a handful of smaller sticks to string together as a garland.  After I was finished wrapping, I added a couple pine cones and acorns by gluing them on. 
I tied the small sticks together with twine, but you could also use the yarn.  That's all!  It's beautifully rustic and woodlandesque, so no need to try and reach for perfection.  I think I love these cozy looking sticks.
The rest of the mantle was put together with pieces from here or there.  I left out my raven painting from Halloween, and the aqua bowls, camera, and books are up on the mantle pretty much year round.  After much deliberation, I put up this antique mirror earlier this year since it, um, "mirrored" the fireplace decoration.  Oh this house.  It's such a mishmash of eras, so I just try to go with it.
I put more of our acorn and pine cone treasures into a jar, added a few stacked pumpkins, and displayed the massive fall bouquet that my mom made me with dried flowers and plants from her yard.  The pitcher and the big vase on the floor were both made by my talented uncle.  I obviously love color, and I'm not afraid to show it, ha!
This little project is just enough to tide me over until it's time to deck the halls, because that's what I'm REALLY dreaming about right now!  Even the kiddos keep asking if it's Christmas time yet.  All the store decorations and Christmasy sights are getting us all into the mood prematurely.  Don't worry, we won't jump the gun on Christmas.  Yet.
 
Do you keep up fall decorations through November, or do you start making things merry and bright?
 
 


12 comments:

  1. Looks lovely and I love the chubby horse too! :-)

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  2. That mantle is a thing of beauty, I tell you! Awesome job. I wouldn't even be able to do that project because there is nary a stick, pine cone, or acorn here, which is kind of sad. Can Fletcher and Rowan go and pick Auntie K some sticks? And, my pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns are still out--thank you for reminding me. Need to put those away and just continue with "fall" until I feel like tackling the Christmas boxes. I will have the monumental task of FINDING our Christmas stuff this year since last year, I was still using Jackie's closet as Christmas stash. Now I've had to sprinkle a few of them throughout other closets in the house so this should be fun. Can't wait to see what you do in that beautiful home. That house just looks like it's meant to be in a home and gardens Christmas spread. I can't wait, it'll be great!

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  3. Beautiful, love the twigs too! We have some basic gourds on the mantle- and I am so not into Christmas yet. I went to Target the day before Halloween and it was full of trees and lights- but it's two months away! :)

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  4. Let's talk about your mirror. You thrifted that, didn't you? I really want to go with you so I can find such awesome things. And the yarn-wrapped twigs? Beautiful! You're so creative. I don't decorate for Halloween really, so I try to keep it all fall-ish in order to not have to redecorate after Halloween. That is mostly the lazy talking right there.

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  5. ~ Great idea! I LOVE your light fixtures. Beautiful.

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  6. Such a fun idea! I love your camera up there. And the pumpkins under the glass....well, it's all pretty great! Thanks for sharing. :) Happy weekend!

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  7. I love all the colors, who says fall needs to be drab? It looks great!

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  8. Love sticks & yarn!!! So very cute-- definitely stealing the idea lol. I love drawing things out-- we keep up the autumn decorations until the day after Thanksgiving, then switch to Christmas {woot!}

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  9. It's all really beautiful! I love yarn wrapped....anything!!!

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  10. Right now I am feeling some serious envy. Those sticks are so simple and beautiful. I need a mantle! Maybe I can make some and they can hang artfully on the flatscreen....

    Your tutorials and whole esthetic of this blog are beautiful, Ruthie.

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  11. Looks great! I love the colors and the pictures you took are amazing, as always!

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  12. The mantle looks awesome. Love the mirror and the aqua glass!

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your comments are the peanut butter to my jelly!