M is for Mantles

Okay, so I know "M" week was last week.

Simple truth, I wanted to play with the Nester and her mantle party.

Complete disclosure, I want to be her friend.
She is awesome. It is her fault that my first post of "N" week is "Never satisfied." It has nothing to do with the fact that I am, in truth, never satistfied.

Anyway, get in your time machines and go back to "M" week with me.

This will be relatively quick, painless, and full of pictures. I have an upstairs mantle and a downstairs mantle. Let's start with the upstairs:

Here is how my mantle looked at Christmas:

Here is the same mantle at Valentine's:

Finally here is how the mantle looks right now (I haven't taken down the Easter stuff yet, don't judge me):

Yeah, I know. Terrible shot. Told you. I really wanted to get this done.

Here is the downstairs mantle (I only have pics of this one handy for the current season.
Yes I am THAT needy. I just want to be part of the Nester's party.

Finally, I have one more "mantle" in my bedroom. I (my hubby actually) made it to serve as a shelf for the entrance to the bedroom. You can read more about the bedroom semi-transformation here.

That's all I got. Come by the Nester's for more (better) mantle inspiration!

F is for Finial

F is for finials, AND, I think I have the McLinky thing figured out. SO F can also mean fellowship! I would love for you to join me on this one!

I love me some finials. The very first ones I ever got my mom gave me for Christmas. They are ginormous and I LOVE them! Everyone (well usually men) makes fun of them because they look so - well worn. Actually, they were marked down at a furniture store because a window leaked on them! Mother Nature gave me a little love, cause I think they are fab that way.

The ones I am talking about are the matching ones. They are as long as my arm ( I don't have a tape measure handy so that is a little over 2 feet tall). The smaller one in front I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby last year.

I am so drawn to finials, I could put them everywhere! I found this at my favorite thrift/antique store and made a few modifications to it:

I Gorilla glued the lid on and then painted it white. I think it still needs a little glazing love, but it is pretty cute.

Here are some red finials that I found at the same store: (I LOVE red, have I told you that??)



Here is a Christmas finial that I got 1/2 price last year:


yeah, blurry picture, I had to crop it. but see the little finial with the elf on top. That's it and it's pretty cute.

And my recent favorite thing (even though I haven't found a home for it yet-this vingette was created on the fly for the sake of a picture) is this little gem:

Actually, it is not even close to little. It is a little over 2 feet tall and yes I found it at the same antique/thrift store for $15. It was one of those moments when I saw it, loved it and knew it must be mine. That is how it works at a thrift/antique store. If you like it, get it. If you are scared, read my fear blog HERE and get over yourself. If you love it, you will probably always be able to find a place for it.

Anywhoo...I loved it, I've told you that right? Then...I got a Ballard Designs catalog last week and look what I also loved:

image from Ballard Designs

It is 29" tall (mine is very close, where is my tape measure?) and the price is $99. WHATUSAY? For real? You should have heard the conversation in my head (okay, maybe it wasn't exactly in my head, I probably said everything out loud, you already know I'm crazy)

Me: Man, I love that! That would look so great on my hearth, table, island...

Other Me: What a minute, didn't I get something like that from Peddler's Mall?

Me: Yeah, I think so.

Other Me: I didn't pay, what is the price? $99, holy cow!

Me: I had no idea how cool I was!

Isn't it fun when you find out you are trendy and didn't even know it!?

Here are a few of the details of my $15 gem:

Now the fun begins...
I'm going to try to give some of you an opportunity to link up and show off some of your stuff.

My main rule is that is has to involve the letter "F." You can stick with the "finial" theme or link up something else. Now I will say, I am pretty flexible about the letter "F" if you can incorporate "F" into your title then I am good with it. Some ideas could be furniture, funny, finished, frenzy, etc. I don't have a button (no clue how to do that) so if you would just add a link and a shout out to me in your post somewhere so others can come see I would be grateful.

I think you all know the official rules:

1) Create a link to your post, not your blog home page.
2) Add a link in your original post back to the party so others can find it.
3) Your project must somehow involve the letter "F"

Let's give it a shot. The link will be open til Sunday night-cause that is when "F" week ends. If it goes well, maybe I can do another one for "G" week! Wanna play?

Well, I am off to play somewhere else...Join me at Tatertots and Jello