Fall Mantel

I don’t know what happened to this week. It flew by.

I have a feeling the next few months will do the same.

So much to do, so little time.

I thought I’d show you what I did to the mantel. I did leave some of my summer things up and mixed in some fall-ish stuff. It works better that way for me. I’m still wearing shorts here.

Oh how I long to wear some boots and a sweater.

So my seabirds stayed along with a few shells. I used the two glass hurricane covers. One filled with wheat and the other has a strand of berry garland just wrapped in there.

I just added some fall leaves to the sand and shell I already had.

I think they made a pretty filler.

 

My bucket of driftwood on the hearth got a few leaves as well.

On the other side I filled another old farm bucket with some mums. The mums are real but the gourds in the twig basket are fake. They are pretty good fakes though.

Some smaller mums fit right in a couple of milk glass pots in that old tool caddy.

I love these little beaded Indian corn.

Did your week fly by as well?

I worked in the yard a bit yesterday. I’m trying to refresh some of my pots with some pansies. I need more. 

I still have more weeding to do as well so I can lay down more mulch. That’s the part I don’t like. 

But it does make it all look so much better.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys a little time outdoors.

Linking up with:
Funky Junk Interiors: SNS #103 Fall Mantels

Old Wooden Tool Caddy

Exams are done for #3 son. Yay for sleeping in tomorrow. I have been so sleepy all day. Not sure what it is. Just don’t have any energy.

I want to show you my recent find at an estate sale. It was a good drive away so I couldn’t leave empty handed. All the pieces I went to see had that ugly SOLD sticker on it. Ugh. But out in the yard I found this old tool caddy.

I have been wanting one for awhile. It was longer then I had envisioned. Almost 3 feet long. And it was pretty dirty as you can see.

I couldn’t decide what to do with it. My first thought was to keep it outside and fill it with geraniums.  But I thought I’d clean it up a bit first and see what it looked like. The veneer peeled off the ends like paper. So they are looking a little newer then the rest of it.

I washed it well and then I took the sander to it. Mostly inside because it had a heavy coating of black gunk. You can see it in that first shot.

Then I waxed it well with some clear wax. If I keep it in the house I may try some brown wax on the ends. They’re bugging me.

It was originally painted white as you can tell from the inside and bits of the outside. I wish more white would have remained on the outside. I thought of dry brushing more on but thought I’d try the wax first.

I’m not sure why it has the hole at each end right under the handle. I love the rusty metal strip that goes all around the ends and the warm patina of the wood.

I’m not loving it on the table. Sort of too big. I just filled it with a few things for the pics. Now if I had a nice long farm table, would that look great? If I can’t find a spot for it then I think it would look just as cute outside. I couldn’t buy a pot for 5 dollars so it was a steal. It would make a cute window box wouldn't it? Maybe I'll put up some brackets on the fence and put it up there. Any other ideas?

Linking up with:
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

see ya,