I grew up in a home with a Mother that made every holiday magical. I can remember running home after school, the first day of each October, a cool chill in the air and fall leaves scattering at my feet in my rush to see how she had decorated for Halloween each year. She always came up with something new and all my siblings and I loved it.
The last few years she has been here visiting right around the beginning of October, for our favorite Fall Antiques show Marburger Farms, and so she had helped me design my mantle. This year I got to return the favor because I spent the last weekend in Utah filming a new photography class!
We thought it would be super helpful to take step-by-steps so you can see how we come up with an idea and decorate each year. Kim Borup is sort of a styling genius!
Step One: Start with a nice clean mantel. And come up with a theme. How do you do that? Look around at what you already have. Shop your house. What do you have a lot of? This year we realized that my Mom had a lot of Harry Potter themed items due to some parties she has thrown, including a Mcgonagall hat and an amazing apothecary box. So she came up with the theme, “Mcgonagall’s Office” and we made a list of everything we thought she would have in her office space. This is when creativity comes into play and you can have fun looking around your house for items that might fit.
Step Two: Place your largest items first. To give you a sense of space. And remember it doesn’t have to be symmetrical.
Step Three: Add filler/texture. Garlands, moss, netting, feathers. Anything that will drape and create texture will add to the overall effect of the mantelscape.
Step Four: Add height! If you have a tall mantel like most people do these days, make sure you add elements that will draw the eye up.
Step Five: Fill, fill, fill. This is where your list of items that match your theme will come in handy. Our list looked something like this:
Books, Owls, animals for transformation, magic wands, antique writing tools, potion bottles for spells, candles, natural elements she had collected on trips, and keys.
Step Six: Take it down! No we don’t mean put it away. We mean bring it down to the base of your fireplace and create a nice overall scene.
That is it! A simple step-by-step guide to coming up with something fun and original using things you already have. Thank you to my Mom for helping write and create this post. Here are some more detail shots.
What theme are you thinking of for your Halloween Mantle?
My pretty Mom in her house, don’t worry she usually smiles, we were just exhausted after decorating it all! Show her a little love on instagram by following Paper Bandit Press.
Actually, I didn’t realize I was in the picture or I would have smiled. I thought I was just watching my amazing photographer daughter in action. Believe it or not, I only spent $2 on this. I bought some black cheese cloth at the Dollar Store. It is amazing what you can re-purpose in your house to make Halloween scenes. Happy Halloween!
I LOVE this mantel! I know you shopped your house for getting what you needed to put it together but I’d love to know where you got some of the bigger items like the hats, owls, and apothecary cabinet. Thanks! :)
I absolutely LOVE this!!!! I’m so happy I’ve found your blog (via Eighteen25)! You have a new follower!
Thanks so much. We love the Eighteen25 Girls, and we always love when they share our stuff!