Thanksgiving Mantel

Our fall mantel this year is a mixture of rustic-ness and elegance.

Kind of an odd combination, I know, but it works for us.

It all started when I saw a sign similar to the one below in a local shop, 

for way too much money.

I knew I could make the sign myself for much less moolah.

And as it turned out, it ended up being totally free!

There are currently a bunch of new houses being built in our neighborhood and the builder had piles of scrap wood sitting out, waiting to be disposed of.

So I rummaged though the piles, found some scraps, made a few cuts, and nailed my sign together.

I already had some Minwax Early American stain in the garage, 

which I used to coat my sign twice.

Then I used my good ol' white paint pen to fill in all of the letters.

That's it. Not a penny spent.

The book page wreath was something I made last year (using THIS fabulous tutorial). 

The two mercury glass pumpkins were Costco finds (a few months back) as were the flameless battery operated candles (which I love!).

The glass pillar candle holders were from Ikea.

And speaking of DIY projects, I thought I'd share this chalkboard sign that hangs on our front porch to welcome guests. 

It was made using an old white cabinet door found at Habitat for Humanity ReStore. 

All I did was paint the center with chalkboard paint and added the rope to hang it.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away!?

Linking up to:

Delightful Order: Delightfully Inspiring Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday 

My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can