Craftinated: My Spring "Mantel," Part One

I don't have a mantel. I wish I did. I dream that some day I will live in a house with a mantel. And a turret. And a claw-foot tub. And... Oops, I guess I kind of got off-track there. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, mantels. So instead of a mantel, I use my piano as a stand-in. It does the trick. Today, I'm going to share some of my mantel decor with you.

Remember how much I love birds? They're so perfect for spring. I picked up a couple dollar store birds. I didn't take before pictures (again, I made these pre-blog), but they were "realistically" painted. I covered them with several coats of antique white spray paint. I bought their nests from Hobby Lobby and perched them atop glass candlesticks from the dollar store and thrift stores.

Next, I made them a little house. The unfinished birdhouse was only a dollar at Joann's. I Mod-Podged colored photocopies of sheet music onto it. The sheet music is for "The Whiffenpoof Song." It was one of my grandfather's favorite songs, and my dad used to sing it to me when I was little. Now I sing it to my kiddos.

Finally, I found these two little birds at the flea market, and the wire bird cage is actually a candle holder I picked up at a garage sale. I stick a little grapevine wreath inside for a nest. My son thinks I should close the door on the bird cage, but I like leaving it open so that the little birdie is free to fly.