My Fall Mantel 2012 and Ruffled Burlap Garland Tutorial
Hi! I finally finished my fall mantel! Well, my shelf. ha! I don’t have a real mantel so I use my Ballard inspired shelf I made as my mantel in my living room.
I wanted to do a traditional looking mantel that would last all of October and November. One of my favorite things about Fall is the gorgeous color that is everywhere! I love the oranges, golds, reds and browns!
I saw this sign on Ella Claire blog and knew I really wanted a similar one. I used my Silhouette to make a vinyl stencil, stuck it on the painted board and painted the letters with acrylic craft paints. When it was almost dry, I peeled off the vinyl and voila! Easy! I also sanded it when everything was dry to get a more rustic look.
The fall foliage topiary was a 90% off find at Hobby Lobby last winter. I think I paid $4 for it! SCORE! The pumpkin too. It was less than a $1 with the 90% off discount! Seriously, stock up after Thanksgiving on your fall decor. Hobby Lobby has crazy cheap prices for their cute stuff!
The books came from the thrift store for $.89 each. I think they bring a lot of character to the display.
It really is super simple! The roll of burlap garland was from Joann’s and it is $8.99 and I used a 50% off coupon. I used one roll for my ruffled garland and it made about 5-6 feet of ruffled garland once it was all put together.

Love love love your mantel 🙂 Your version of my sign turned out so great! Very smart to use the sillhouette for a stencil!
Thanks for the inspiration Kristen! …and thanks a million for stopping by our blog!
XOXO Mallory
I don’t normally like garlands, but I LOVE this! Looks so great. Thanks for sharing at the Under $10, Under 1 hour party.
This is seriously TOO CUTE! I love everything about it! I would have never thought to use vintage books but boy, do they look awesome on there! Way to go Mallory! You’re always inspiring me!!
love it Mal! Looks great!
Thanks Jen! You’re the best! XOXO
That looks great! I didn’t know they sold burlap like that. Since you didn’t glue or cut the burlap at all you could use it for something else another time!
what a great idea~I love burlap! I’ll have to check at JoAnns 🙂
Your “mantle” {hehe} looks amazing!! I absolutely love it! 🙂
So cute! Love love LOVE your sign! Matter of fact, I just tweaked it a bit and made a printable version of it for my fall bookshelf! (You can see it here: http://aheartfulhome.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkins-apples-and-hayrides-sign-free.html) Your sign is a lot bigger and more rustic tho… I still think I like yours better. 😉
So adorable! The ruffle burlap garland is gorgeous!
Your mantel/ shelf is gorgeous! Love that garland.
love it all great work 🙂
I love that sign! The whole mantel looks fantastic. Great job!
xo-Kimberly {allons-y kimberly}
Any chance you would consider a printable of the sign?