Mini Mantel Makeover

             I got the idea in my head last week to 'mini makeover' my mantel, so I finally finished yesterday. After I painted last year, I just chunked a bunch of photos up there without really thinking about it, got busy with baby stuff and never fixed it. So after looking at some inspiration photos online and of course referring to my fav home decor blog-younghouselove.com- I realized again how much I needed to do this little re-vamp. Here are a couple of befores:

No real order, too much red, even worse... boring.

So I started rounding up things from around the house: pictures, stacks of books, etc... and finished this mini-makeover for just $1.99. I bought one little thing that I couldn't resist on clearance at Cato. Let's see if you can spot it.

Those biological prints (they're actually framed pages from a neat calendar) in black frames I used to have in our bedroom until it became a nursery. The glass urn things came from TJ Max super cheap (like $5 each sometime last year when I wanted more green in our house). The frames I've had for years, they were already on the mantel (the sweet pewter one was a bridesmaid gift from Sarah!), the wooden candle holder was also a wedding gift, and there's no shortage of books in my house. I robbed the piano for that houseplant on the left--I love a fresh, green houseplant.

Oh yeah, the metal circle deal was something I got years ago on clearance at Pier 1. It's been all over the house, on the wall, propped against things, etc...

It's not perfect, but it's definately an improvement! Any guesses on what I added for $1.99? It's probably obvious since I already mentioned everything else. It's that cute, little ceramic bird. I'm not one for knick-knacks, but it's so green and was so cheap I couldn't resist.