I have finally got around to dressing my Spring/Summer mantel.  I meant to do this the day after I took down my St. Patrick’s Day mantel.  Fate however, had other plans for me.  First we had out-of-town guests stay with us.  Next, we all had a bout with the stomach flu. And then I got a nasty kidney infection.  So finally after a month, I think (fingers crossed) I can get back to business-as-usual.

This year I recycled a few items, including this bird and DIY piece of art from last year’s Summer mantel.

I made the mossy “S”.  I just cut a sheet of moss to fit my purchased S. The rest of this side was borrowed from other displays I have around the house.

Next, I want to tackle the front porch.  It needs some Summer-izing!  I have not decided on a fun Summer theme yet though.  There are so many possibilities.  I need to narrow it down and get goin’!  Happy Weekend everyone!

     Earlier this week I started to switch our home from winter to summer. I thought it would only take a day but it has taken me all week.  Most of the switch over was the same thing I do every year at the end of school, declutter, but since I have added some richer colors to some of the walls in the house this year it still feels warm and cozy not light and fresh. This mantel has been naked since St Patrick’s Day.  I want to put my over-sized wall clock up here but I haven’t got around to the art project that will replace the clock on the wall. I would rather have a naked mantel than a bare wall.  The art project is on my To Do List for Summer. In the mean time, I came up with this summery mantelscape (pretty sure that is not a real word but it should be).  I had a few things on hand and I went shopping for a few things. I bought the faux lemons, yellow flowers, little nest and rose ball at Thai Pan Trading Co. I bought the white wire basket and etc. sign at a thrift shop. I had the frames and vase on hand. All in all, I sent just under $20. The clear glass vase got a makeover with coat of white satin spray paint. The frames were unfinished wood that I was thinking of whitewashing, but I had this great looking scrapbook paper on hand so I decided to decoupage them. The etc. sign got a fresh coat of metallic teal paint. My daughter made the “Fresh Lemonade” and I made the “Summertime” art.  Here are a few closeups.

     I’ve still got a bit more lightening up to do in a couple of rooms, hoping to wrap everything up in the next few days.  My projects are really starting to pile up and that is the opposite of what I want.  I want to dedicate my time to the kids while I have them home for the summer.   Sorry about the quality of these pictures.  My camera may have taken it’s last picture.  The last few posts have picture taken with the camera in my phone.

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