Fall Bookcase Mantel 2013 {Happy Harvest}

Last night, I dug out all the fall decor bins and got busy making the apartment all festive for fall. It’s one of my favourite things to do during this time of year.

 

I went with a harvest theme – apples, wheat, a ceramic pumpkin and yummy lightly scented candles.

 

I loaded up some apples from a roadside stand in a bushel basket lined with linen tea towel fabric I just bought. You could make something similar with my tutorial for hand painted vintage striped tea towels.

 

The sign was much easier than I expected. I made it 10 minutes before I took the pictures last night. I had the whole thing set up and at the last minute, I thought it needed something more…maybe just a little typography.

 

I wrote my phrase using “Constania” font in Word and then printed it. Using sharp scissors, I carefully cut out each letter. If you have a vinyl letter printer, this would be even easier to do it that way, but it only took a few minutes to cut out all the letters by hand.

 

I cut out rectangles from a manila file folder from our home office because it had the beige colour I was looking for, but any card stock would work. Glue the letters onto the rectangles with a glue stick. Using a needle and thread, I connected all the rectangles together to spell “HAPPY” and “HARVEST”.

 

Then it was just a matter of taping the thread to the sides of our mirror. I need to remember this next time I need a quick sign for a party.

 

I love how it all looks lit up at night. We’ve been lighting the candles in the evening when we get home and it makes the whole living room look so cozy.

 

Happy Harvest 🙂

 

I’m really digging the neutral colours this year, but I still have a soft spot for what I did last year. I went with a more colourful bookcase mantel, using pinecones, faux pumpkins, berry branches and lanterns.

 

I also made a colourful fall wreath to match. I’m still brainstorming what I want to do for a fall wreath this year!