Our Fall Mantle

Fall is here! One of the things my daughter and I both look forward to is redecorating the house for season changes and holidays. It was something that my mother did with us as a child, and even though she worked a lot to support my sister and I, I valued that time we spent together. And I always knew that it was a tradition that I wanted to pass along to my children.

Our daughter LOVES the holidays, and Halloween is probably one of her favorites. And while I the decor we chose may not necessarily be so creepy or spooky, it's definitely fun and colorful.

It's also still a work in progress. I'm hoping that this weekend we can hit the pumpkin patch and bring home a few mums to fill my empty basket and some pumpkins to carve. I basically used things I had already had on hand from the previous year, and also a few things I had brought home from my mom's house (remnants of my stuff that lingered in her attic since I moved out). The garland (it's actually 3 pieces) is from the dollar store, the witches are German heirlooms, and the pumpkins I bought at Hobby Lobby and Target last year. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

And here is the lower half. I still haven't gotten around to scrubbing that other half of my fireplace! The perfectionist in me didn't even want to post pics showing the brick because my laziness is a bit embarrassing. I guess there's no better motivation to get on it than that! We've also yet to paint the inner brick inside the hearth, but now that I've given the furnace cement plenty of time to dry and cure, we should be good to go. I've been researching faux hearth electric heaters available to insert in our fireplace, and so I think that it is a best, least expensive, and cleanest option at the moment. More on that in a future post. 

I love my ceramic basset hound. He was another attic remnant of mine from my childhood. I think I found him at a thrift store, and since we had a couple basset hounds while growing up, I immediately snatched him up. He wasn't nearly so pretty then as he is now, though. I washed him up, gave him a fresh coat of white paint, and stuck him in the best place any dog would naturally gravitate: in front of the fireplace. It's a favorite spot for our two pooches, too, and we haven't even lit a fire yet. 

Everything else, aside from the apples in the owl planter, were things I had collected in previous years. The apples I bought from the Salvation Army thrift store back at the end of August for .99 cents. I bought them with the intention of panting them white and perhaps glitter dipping them, but I left them original since their bright colors coordinated so well with my leaf garland. 

So, that's our fall decorating at the moment. What do you think? I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out, especially since it all cost me a total of $1. Some mums and pumpkins will really top it off. The best part is that it will all easily transition into the next month for Thanksgiving (with exception of the witches). I love using things that are so versatile. 

How many of you have already begun to decorate for fall? Do you make it a tradition like we do? Feel free to share your decorating pictures with me!