Simple Easter Mantel

We don't have a mantel, per se (no fireplace here!), but we do have a shelf above the TV in the living room and it's usually a junk collector (and dust collector). As if they need an introduction, here are the before pictures:



Full disclosure: I forgot to take the before pictures and had already cleared off the shelf. So, this was waaay worse than what you see here. I was too lazy to put the clutter back up :)

If you know me, you know my house is too small for our family. You also know that my house is in a constant state of chaos, as is our schedule. Hubs and the kids are home during the day and then we are usually running around at night doing different errands, obligations, etc... so there's rarely a moment where everything is picked up, dusted, vacuumed, wiped down, and just perfect. It's just not realistic. BUT...since we aren't able to sell it for a while, we are trying to reorganize so that we can fit better and the kids have room to play. Once this is done, I feel like we can get on to a schedule and cleaning rotation that won't be too daunting. HOPEFULLY.

Last week, I bought some speckled eggs to display for Easter for 50% off at Joann Fabrics, so I bought two packages for a total of $9.99! Score for sure. I don't have an overabundance of cool items in which to display them and I cannot get to my ribbon right now, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I remembered that I had two identical clear, tall vases that we used at a fundraiser last year, so I gave it a shot.

I think it turned out pretty well.  What do you think? The wall art is actually the inspiration for our playroom, but since we're still working on that project, it's  been sitting on the mantel and I thought it went well with the eggs, so I left it there for Easter.

The bunny is one of those singing-and-dancing novelties my mom likes to buy for the kids at holidays.  They love it and can listen to it 100 times per day.  I'm sure you can relate!  So, needless to say, I felt that he had a place in our holiday decor.


When we were at IKEA a couple weeks ago buying the bookshelves for the playroom, we also bought doors for our entertainment center and hadn't put them on yet, so I figured I would try it out.  I'm not great with tools as I normally don't read the directions; I just "figure it out as I go".  Hubs has had to come behind me and re-do things plenty of times. I'm just impatient by nature.  But this looked pretty easy.  And it was.   Here's how it looked before the doors - very cluttered and dusty in there. 



The TV stand that holds our DVR, DVD player and video game consoles

See all the dust and random junk on those shelves?  And that pile of paper to the left?  That's mostly my scrapbook paper that used to live in the dining room and was  removed when we started to convert it to the playroom and just haven't found a place for the paper yet.

Here's how it looked afterwards:

 

Ta-da!  It only took me about 10 minutes on each door and that includes opening the packages and reading the instructions.  Not bad, eh?  In all, I only spent about 30 minutes total (including installing the doors) and it looks 100% better than it did.  Now, I just need to install a clutter repellent and we'll be good to go!

Also, I realize that it may seem odd to some of you that this is an "after" picture when that paper pile is still sitting there.  But, my focus was on getting the entertainment center organized and cleaned off.  The papers are for another day.  If you notice, there are toys hiding out underneath it even.  Not cleaning under, inside, or around; just the entertainment center itself.  I will eventually organize the things inside of the cabinet. But not this week.

I think that's a good lesson for us sometimes.  Stop trying to do too much all at once.  You have to do one thing at a time or you will constantly feel like you've failed.  That's my encouragement for the day and I hope you liked my project!

 

Oh, and I hung up the kids' Easter cards from their great-aunt.  And yes, those are blank picture frames.  I need to get some updated pictures of my family for those.

Happy Easter everyone!