Summer Mantel Ideas

Now that the holidays are over for a little while, I was thinking that I might as well be festive with my mantel and decorate for summer, or at least until I change my mind. I had some shells and coral from our Bahama trip and bought a few more at... the Dollar Tree. That's right, one dollar for a bunch. Fabulous. I really wanted some glass jars though for my display.

Then I realized I had only one pickle left in my pickle jar. Ate it, washed the jar, soaked off the label and ta-da. I did the same with my kalamata olive jar. Bam. I now have some great glass displays. I have also kept some salsa jars because I like the different shapes.

I had two old frames that I wanted to use some vinyl on. I had a wooden one from Pier one that didnt "go" with any of my other frames, but it looked beachy. I created a sand dollar shape on my Silhouette machine and used their "frosted vinyl" (I think its called that.) I took the backs out of the frames and taped the glass in. I dont know if I recommend that though, it's probably not very safe, but it was easy. Glue might be a better choice.

I took a picture of the back of this frame to show you that its actually the front. I didnt really like the way the front of the frame looked and the back looked a little more rustic to me, so I painted the back and used that as the front. I love the result.

Lastly I wanted to mention that I placed my vinyl images on the front of the glass versus the back, that way you dont see any bubbles, just fyi. Hope this helps you with your summer mantel ideas. Although, I'm already excited for fall. I love the holidays!