January's Fireplace Mantle

I don't know--perhaps I'm a show-off. A dorky, cat-lady librarian, mother of two beautiful and talented daughters show-off. But I just had to show you my 'new' mantle!

Sarah made Les this awesome vessel for his Christmas gift in Ceramic Handbuilding. I showed you my wonderful green, leafy mug in an earlier post. This vessel is fragile and beautiful and looks like a hollowed-out log with leaves on it.

I filled it with Salt Cedar sticks, red berries and ivy.

Isn't it pretty!

Then I moved the wooden spools to the mantle and made one into a candle holder with the re-purposed lantern on top, stacked some books (cause nothing says 'home' like a pile of books) and added the clock.

And voila! Here it is!

Do you like the tilted picture? Do you want to know why it is so artsy, tilted and framed? Because the original was crooked--the photographer (me) didn't hold the camera straight. And I tried to straighten it using Paintshop. But I don't know what I'm doing so I came up with this and decided it worked! teehee. That's the reason I don't hang pictures straight. And I stagger posters in the library. Cause they will never be straight and this way, they are crooked on purpose! How's that for a decorating lesson?

And did I mention that the sticks, the books, the wooden spools and of course the delightful lantern thingy all came from garage sales?