Crafty Patriotic Mantel with a Rag Garland, Pennant, and U.S.A. Picks

My mantel's year is usually winter, St. Patrick's Day, Easter/Spring, Summer, Fall, Christmas.
I skip Valentine's Day because I'm usually worn out after Christmas and don't feel like doing two quick changes. It felt like there was a hole though between my spring mantel and my beach-themed summer mantel. I decided that a patriotic display would be a great fit for Memorial Day through July 4th.

 

From left to right...

I left my white lantern and added two candle holders (Hobby Lobby 50% off) and a picture frame stand (Michael's 'Make It Market' 50% off). I resized this cute printable for the frame.

 

I made a little pennant banner for the window using DCWV's Nantucket stack and red & white baker's twine from Queen and Co. I cut the pennants from Cricut's Pretty Pennants cartridge. The wood star is from Christmas Tree Shops, and the painted Mason jars are from Michael's (50% off). I made three little picks for the jars using the Nantucket stack, Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Scalloped Circle and Large Circle, and Cricut Extreme Fonts for the letters. To hold the picks in place, I wadded balls of tin foil and stuffed them in the jars.

On the far side, I put a bunch of mini flags (Hobby Lobby) into a white ceramic vase (Michael's 50% off) and set it on a couple books to add height.

 

Altogether, it looks like this.

Hanging on the mantel is a rag garland i made using this tutorial. I cut the fabric (JoAnn's all on sale plus an extra 15% off everything coupon!) into 1" x 10" pieces and knotted it onto shoelace rope that I doubled up.

Of course with all the red, white, and blue on the mantel, I needed to make new pillow covers for the couch too. :)  I used the same envelope pillow cover method that I use for all of them. (Fabric from JoAnn's 50% off plus that coupon).

 

Now my living room is all decked out for the good ol' U.S. of A!

 

Behind the Scenes: what the photos don't show you is that I didn't buy enough of the floral pillow fabric so the loveseat still has plaid St. Paddy's Day pillows. Ugh! 

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:

Sunday: It's Overflowing; Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Inspire Me Monday at Sand and Sisal; Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z; Monthly Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts; 
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;

This post was featured at Handy Man, Crafty Woman. Thanks, Laurie!