My Simple, {mostly} Natural, Fall Mantel

Decorating my mantel this fall took me forever!  I don’t even know how many blog posts I’ve read about mantels, decorating pumpkins, creating the best look, etc., etc., etc.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved reading through all of the creative ideas I found, but it left me feeling a bit overwhelmed and curious as to how I could get a mantel that I liked without spending a ton of money.

My first idea was to paint some Dollar store pumpkins with a crackle glaze finish.  This was an ultimate fail!  The pumpkins are not crackly in the least!  Thankfully I got all of those supplies on sale or with coupons, so now I have the paint and crackle to tackle another project down the road.  Does anyone have any tips on how to do this correctly?  I followed the instructions on the bottles.

Anyway, since that didn’t pan out, I raided my cabinets and pantry for another idea.  When we moved into our last apartment, whoever had lived there previously left quite a few things behind.  Our rental company didn’t want the stuff, so we were able to hang onto it.  Among some of the loot were 3 skinny vases.  I found them during this raid of the cabinets, along with several bags of pecans {in the shell} that I had purchased on sale at the beginning of September.  These would be the perfect natural look I was going for!  Throw in 3 small pumpkins from the grocery store, two white candles wrapped in jute, some sticks from the woods, and I had my fall mantel!

I love it!  It’s simple, natural, easy, symmetrical {which I like} and doesn’t detract from the colors already in my room.

What’s on your fall mantel?