Springy Mantel: High-end style on low-end budget

 I put together a quick Springtime mantel on Friday night.  My husband went on a church camp-out with the oldest three boys and my oldest daughter was having a sleepover with a friend, so my three-year-old and 9-month-old*helped* me.  It's not perfect, but I didn't have to buy anything to create it, so as far as I'm concerned, that is good enough.

Everything was purchased at either the dollar store or thrift stores. Hopefully it looks classier than that :).  And sorry about the lighting--even in broad daylight, the living room in the home we are renting is the worst lit room ev-ah.

Dollar store lamb, $1 thrift store brass framed mirror, dollar store frame painted blue (a'la Melissa from 320 Sycamore) with quote I printed myself.

Dollar store moss, eggs bought from an online florist shop for cheap (like $1.50 for 12 kind of cheap) in a shabby $2 thrift store urn.

More eggs and moss in a $1 glass hurricane from the Dollar store.

Close up of the apothecary jar (not from a thrift store or dollar store, but it was a present, so it was free!).  The nest and the blue fragment of egg in the front are real.  A few years ago, a cheeky bird used all the lemon thyme from my herb garden to build a nest.  One day, the happy little bush was there, and a few days later, every strand was gone.  I didn't know what happened until a windy summer day brought this nest down with the sweetest little fragment of a robin's egg inside.  There is nothing like that color.

So there you go.  It may not win any design awards, but it makes me smile, and that's what matters :).

I'm linking up at: Centsational Girl

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