Want a sneak peek at my frayed edge euro shams?
Visit my facebook page!  Tutorial coming Monday.

If you are a fan of seven thirty three on Facebook you know that I have been looking to update my mantle decor.  I searched high and low for about a week and finally hit the motherload when my mom and I took an all-day shopping trip.  The only intent: to find the perfect items for my space!

Here is the plain-jane, boring, needed-a-place-high-up-to-put-my-Willow-Tree-figurines-because-my-daughter-kept-attacking-them “before” mantle:

And we hit it big!  After several stores we went to HomeGoods and came away with these amazing pieces:
 
Vintage Bike Metal Wall Art – $29.99

Carved Wood and Metal Elephant – $25.00

The Willow Tree carving was one I already owned and reprensents my youngest daughter who LOVES elephants.  She was with us on this shopping expedition and picked out the elephant.  She sat with it in the cart and brushed its “hair” the whole time we were in the store.  She was not impressed when I had to hand it to the cashier!
 
Green Bird – $5.00 – see image below of bird cage.
 
We then went to the local craft store next door and found a sweet little Blue Bird for $5.  I also went to Joanns and came away with this little bucket and some spanish moss for $9:

I put the spanish moss inside, added the little blue bird on top and had an instant nest.
(I also added some spanish moss to the bottom of the bird cage for some filler).  The candle holder was a house warming gift from a neighbor and I thought it fit perfectly!
 
I looked and looked for a bird cage but didn’t find ANYTHING that would fit on my pitiful little mantle (which is the width of my iPhone).  I went to TJ Maxx and found this interesting wire birdcage for $8:

I think it is meant to clip mail to and hold keys and such… once I saw it I knew I could make it work!  I broke off the bottom three hooks, added a little green to jazz it up and screwed it to the wall.

The bone carving of the three people was a present from my SIL.

 
The pregnant elephant carving was a gift from my mom:

I made the FAMILY burlap banner (got the burlap on sale for $1.90 for a 3/4 yard – and used the remainder to make my Burlap Monogram!). My laptop with the Make the Cut software (for my Cricut) currently has a dead battery and I need a new cord in order to charge it, so I freehanded the letters onto freezer paper and cut them out with my exacto knife.  I zigzag stitched on some twine and I LOVE the end result!

Vinyl birdcage from NouWall: $30 with shipping.

I added my roll of twine and then mod podged a plastic ball with some of my old music sheets (from my clarinet days), and added a candle and a chunk of wood for the finishing touch!

This is the perfect representation of my style and I LOVE the result.
THE TOTAL: $113.89 not including tax
So much better than what was there before.

What did I do with the mirror that had been above the fireplace (that only my 6’4″ husband could see his reflection in because it was so high)?  Put it in my room! I now have a full length mirror in my room – something I have been wanting FOREVER but never got around to picking up!