A Spring-Inspired Valentine’s Mantle

Come see how I decorated my Valentines Mantel this year – on a budget and with a spring theme.

I am seriously chomping at the bit for Spring to be here already.  Over the weekend, I was within inches of going for it and updating my mantle with new Spring decor.  I have never been one to decorate for Valentine’s day, but I have changed my ways this year.  Plus, I had this garland that I made last week in need of a home.

Heck, it’s only for 2 weeks anyway.  Then I can bust out the flowers and bunnies to give Spring a proper welcome.

Since I’m not a big Valentine’s decorator, I gave myself a very limited budget.  I originally told myself $10, but then bumped it up to $14 (big spender, here, people!).

Here’s my budget breakdown:

• Printable – $4.00 for photo printing – click here to download for FREE!
• Burlap & Garland – Free (stuff I had leftover from other projects)
• Silk Flowers – $3.00 – on sale at Michael’s
• Galvanized tin pails – $2.00 – a thrift store find!
• White decorative trees – Free – leftover from my Winter Mantel
• White branches in clear vases – Free – stolen borrowed temporarily from my Home Office
• Large white backdrop board – $5.00 clearance item from Ikea
• Jars – Free – from the pantry

All-told, I spent a whopping $14 on this mantle update!  Of course, it’s fitting that I should spend $14 on my Valentine’s Day decor… Ha!

I think my favorite find was from the “last chance” section at Ikea.  They had a bunch of cabinet doors on final clearance for $5 each a few weeks ago.  I wasn’t quite sure what I needed to do with a white cabinet door, but for $5 I just couldn’t walk away.

I think this cabinet door makes a wonderful backdrop for my mantle decor.  I’m still toying with the idea of actually mounting the cabinet door right on the wall above the mantle.  We will see…

For the jars, I started by wrapping them with burlap.  Then, I stripped the leaves off of the silk tulips, and taped them around the jar.  Super simple!