Fall Mantle - My owl needed some accessorizing

Now that my owl painting is finished I'm on to accessorizing the house for fall.  I dug out my fall decor from the garage and edited it for the mantle.  The mantle is less than a year old, so I've never decorated it for fall.  If you'd like to see how I made it go here.

  I never get away from my starfish. I include them in all my seasonal decor.  I'm at the beach a couple times a week playing volleyball year round so the beach is always near and dear to my heart.  For Fall I embellished my starfish with Grandma's old costume earrings and tied them with some twine to my hurricanes.  I filled the hurricanes with some costume pearl necklaces, shells, and dried branches.  I used a burgundy colored candle to tie into the fall foliage in my owl painting.

On the other side of the mantle I added one of my columns and the matching hurricane, another glass container filled with fall inspired stuff - drift wood, feathers, shells, and a conch shell.  I think the texture and colors go nicely with the owl colors.

I added a faux vine and my white pumpkins. 

I sat my pumpkins on a feather boa for contrast and texture.

Along the side of my fireplace I placed some golden glazed pottery and a basket of wood for texture.

I placed a large faux pumpkin on the column in the corner for some more fall color.

I have more to show you but that's another post.  I'm linking this up to

The DIY Show Off

Thanks for checking it out.

My Owl

I've been wanting to change up the painting in my niche above my fireplace, but didn't have a permanent solution? 
This is what I came up with.

Here's what it looked like for summer.  Summer is over, it's time for a change.

This solution can easily be changed out for all the seasons.

I tried a mirror, but the niche is very large and the space required a really big mirror to cover the niche painting.  I tried a mirror from another room over the mantle and it over whelmed the space.  Instead I decided to hang a piece of drop cloth canvas above the mantel and paint an owl on it for fall. I used left over finials and curtain rods I already had and hung an inexpensive drop cloth from the rod.  This enabled me to create a custom size canvas.

 I couldn't just go out and buy a pre made canvas to put over the mantle because the niche was so big.  This was a cost effective solution.  I bought the drop cloth at Big Lots for $10.

First I washed and ironed the drop cloth.  Next I cut it to the right size and sewed a pocket for the top and bottom rod.  I put a rod in the bottom to to give the canvas some weight.  I taped off a border to create a painted frame.

I hung it up to see if I liked it?  The curtain rod matches the rest of the ones I used in the room.

These are drop cloth drapes.

At this point I still wasn't sure this was the look I was going for, but I had to follow it through to be sure?

I painted a black border to frame the art work I intended to paint and lived with it for awhile like this.  I didn't have time to complete it.  Coaching two volleyball teams has put a dent in my crafting and blogging time.

In the mean time I started collecting images of owls I liked. 
I like this Barn Owl but decided to paint a Great Horned Owl instead. 
Isn't his heart shaped face so cute?

This Anthropologie owl painting sells for $2000. 

Out of my budget.

I went to the library and checked out some books. 

This one became my main subject. 

I love his hooded golden eyes.

I started by sketching the owl with pencil on the canvas.  If drawing isn't your thing,  you could make an overhead copy and use a projector to trace the image onto the canvas.

Next I started painting in the color.  I used basic acrylic paint.
 I added some fall foliage to mine and a branch to perch on.

I added black with paint and a ball point pen to get the extra fine detail of the feathers.

Here's my owl hung up over the mantle.  Total cost $10.  When I get tired of the owl or want to change it out for the next season, all I have to do is fold it up and paint something new.  I still have left over drop cloth, so the next one will be free.

Now I'm ready to decorate the mantle.  That will have to wait till another day. 

More volleyball coaching and soccer mom duties await my day.

I can't help it, I have jumped in with both feet into the owl trend,  but I like him ...at least until the Christmas season rolls around. 
What will I paint for Christmas?

How do you change out your mantle for fall?
Are you jumping into a trend at the moment?

Thanks for checking it out.

To see how the mantle is decorated for Fall go here.
I'm Linking this up to Censational girl Fall Craft Party.

More projects you might like.

Family Art
My kid's Ocean

O'verlays, have you seen these yet?

I was checking out Amanda's blog over at Amanda Carol at Home and saw her to die for Ikea dresser.  She glammed it up with a very cool product called O'verlays.   Amanda painted hers gold and put stickies on the back to attach them to the dresser.  Very clever and she can easily change it up when she wants to. 

How cool is that?

Have you seen these?  I can't wait to try them.

Look at all the cool patterns they come in.

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Love this!

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Can't wait to figure out what I'm going to with these when I order some?
Over a mirror perhaps or maybe the ceiling?

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Maybe I'm the last person to hear about these?

Thanks for checking it out.

Where Do You Find Inspiration?

I made this flower arrangement recently for a 50th Birthday Party for my husband.  I thought I would show you my inspiration and how simple this was to make.

Every summer I take the kids to the Del Mar Fair, now called the San Diego County Fair, but we still call it the Del Mar Fair. Kind of like Costco used to be named Price Club and for years I still called it Price Club.   Anyway, while the kids enjoyed the rides I did a quick run through the flower exhibits to take in the beauty. This is the first year I let the kids go off by themselves for an hour while I enjoyed the exhibits.

 

 I am always amazed and delighted with the creativity of the arrangements.  I thought you like to see some of them.  These are just pictures of the inside exhibits.  I'll show you the pictures of the outdoor landscaping exhibits in another post.

There was a Steam Punk vibe in many of the exhibits. 

They used old rusted objects combined with delicate flowers.  

Ultra modern.

New metal, Artichoke flowers (I think?) and trimmed Philodendron leaves.

Who would think to put these two together, but I like it.

Re purposed chair and succulents. 

Succulents were bigger than ever this year.

More succulents

Cactus skeleton and faux succulents. 

 I thought using plastic succulents at a flower show was a big no no?

I have to admit I have some plastic succulents that I use indoors.  I love the simpleness of this arrangement.

Who knew plastic lawn edging could look so good?

Maiden Hair Ferns and String of Pearls in mass. 

I love all the green and this is such a simple doable idea.

I like the white sticks.  This is great for a table setting center piece because the clear glass doesn't block the view of the guest sitting across from each other.  Don't you hate when you can't see the people across from you at a dinner party?

I took a picture of this Dahlia next to my fist so you could get an idea of how big it was.  Nice age spots.  Let this be a lesson out there to all you youngsters to wear sunscreen on your hands! 

This one was even bigger.

This was the inspiration for my much smaller and less grand arrangement. 

This orchid and Bromeliad display stopped traffic. 

Everyone that passed by couldn't help but admire the beauty.  I even saw some husbands that had been dragged in there with their wives stop to check it out. 

Ladies, don't make your husbands go look at flowers, they don't want to, they're just being nice.

Be nice back and don't make them go. 

They used about a dozen orchids in this arrangement and attached the Bromeliads to the branches with fishing line. 

This arrangement was huge, about three and a half feet tall.

My arrangement is about two feet tall and because I had limited time and a very limited budget, mine is not grand, but it works for me.  It reminds me a little of a Dr. Seuss tree?  This is a party for a guy, so I didn't want the flowers to be too feminine.  It was inexpensive to make, really easy, AND it will last a very long time. 

I used a $5 glass container and added sand and rocks to the bottom.  Next I stuck in a sandblasted Mansanita branch and a potted orchid.  The orchid was $8 at Home Depot.  I left the orchid in it's original plastic pot.  Then I covered up the pot with clumps of moss.  I added three succulent cuttings from my yard and hid the stems in the moss.  After the party I stuck the cuttings back in the ground to make a whole new plant.  I added a candle.

I hot glued some Tillandsias, moss, and bird's nests to the branches.

I placed it up against a black wall for the pictures.

I placed it outside on a large stump on my appetizer table.  It doesn't photograph well here that's why I took some pics. of it up against the black wall.  You can see a little bit of the beginning of a living room I created outside for the party.  I also added a whole other dinning room this side of the back of the chair.  My poor husband is surrounded by estrogen.  He has a wife, two daughters, a girl dog, and a girl bunny.  He doesn't have a "man" space in the house so for his birthday I created an outdoor cigar smoking living room for him.  I pulled the two chandeliers out of our bedroom and hung them above the fire pit.  They gave off great light at night.
I pulled furniture from inside the house to create the outdoor room.

I made lasagna for about 60 people and some of them ate here by the fire pit.  My friend Kristy recommended using this recipe from Pioneer Woman. 

I have a great lasagna recipe, but mine's not quick and easy. 

This one was simple to make and delicious. 

More people ate out here in our front courtyard.

A good time was had by all and my arrangement still looks great a week later. 

Where do you get inspiration?

Thanks for checking it out.

To see more of my simple, cost effective arrangements click on the links below.
Bubblicious
Rope Plant Hanger
House Warming Gift
Succulents
New Urns
Terrariums