Simple Valentine’s Day Mantel

Those of you who have a TV mounted above your fireplace know the pain that is decorating a mantel, right? You have height limits. Since last year, we’ve moved the TV, and had it mounted several inches higher than it used to be, but still. Can’t exactly go crazy with the decor. And I’ve realized that with the bookcases flanking the fireplace/TV, less is more. There’s so much going on in the shelves of the bookcases, that more of the same would not and does not work. At Christmastime, I kept it at just the greens and white lights, with stockings hung of course;) I started out with silver reindeer and (short) trees and such, and the more I starting taking away, the better it was looking. Lesson learned. So what to do, what to do, when the greens came down a couple weeks ago?

It was not a pretty sight at first. It was bare for days. And days. Until my children took matters into their own hands and built a Lego Village up there. 😉

Guess they had enough of the bare mantel too;)

So the Legos were up for a couple days, and frankly, I was kinda diggin’ it. I mean, it was way better than staring at nothing! But since my kids are obsessed with legos, it was only a matter of time before they needed those pieces back to rebuild some more masterpieces. Guess it was about time to grab my Valentine’s Day bin out from storage anyway…

I found my burlap XO banner that I made last year, and the L-O-V-E glasses. Hmm…

I grabbed my mirror-turned-centerpiece tray from the dining room (it was time to switch things up on the table anyway;), and sat it on the mantel.

With some help from the Dollar Tree, where I picked up some conversation hearts, a few bunches of fake roses, and a bag of rose petals, I put together my simple (and short – always important!) Valentine’s Day Mantel.

You’ll notice I sat the glasses on some wooden hearts – I happened to have them in my bin from last year (never got around to making anything with them). The glasses needed some height because of the edge of the mirror, so these were just the perfect lift. Also, I threw in a few tea lights I had that wasn’t using.

It’s not much, but I think it’s enough. And using things I had made it cost only a few bucks;)

Last year, I filled the LOVE glasses with cinnamon candies and tea lights, but decided to do conversation hearts this year (well, the Dollar Tree decided for me, since they didn’t have the red hots – lol!). I cut some of their fake red roses and added a couple to each glass.

I picked up some other goodies at the Dollar Tree while I was there, so stay tuned for some more super inexpensive but festive ideas very soon!