Right, ready for my little mantle tour? Beth from The Stories of A to Z had started me on the whole thing a few weeks ago. She used to host a weekly mantel party, but is currently in the process of revising the schedule of it. (Here is a link to her latest Mantel Party). I gathered all sorts of Chinese bits and pieces together and arranged them on my mantle. I am baaadly longing for spring, and so a bunch of red tulips became the centrepiece of the mantle. The old enamel coffee pot came out again, too. Here we go:
There always tends to be an element of symmetry in my arrangements. I have found that a symmetrical, not-too-cluttered mantle arrangement deludes my visitors to feel that the whole kitchen is tidy and calm. Ha! If only. So for that reason there is a central flower arrangement and then two identical objects at the side. This time it is my Christmas Sales finds, the red hurricanes. The red and white box on the left is my Shanghai memory box (I wrote a post about that project here.) It originally contained traditionally Chinese spring cakes. I usurped the box from my brother- and sister-in-law who brought it back for all the family a couple of years ago. The other red box on the right contains a tiny Chinese tea set which was given to me by a very kind and generous friend who used to live in Shanghai. The jar beside the tulips came from my grandmother - it has a dragon design on it. No idea how she acquired it, but I like it, anyway...
Sooooo - with all the bright reds on my mantle, I cheer myself up every time I step into the kitchen. Come on, year of the tiger...
Best,
3 comments:
I LOVE IT!!! The chairs are my favorite. Well done!
Sonja, yes, I just painted right over it. It takes a LOT of paint. That ottoman took about a quart, and you really have to work it into all the threads. Once the paint is on, it gives the appearance of leather. Now that I have a base color, I'm going to add additional fringe and trim, paint some black diamonds on the green, and perhaps a chevron or two -- I'm kind of looking at wall paper patterns to see what I want to do. Thank you for your kind comments. We're sisters in our love for crafting and design!
Thanks for your kind words about my pillows. I appreciate it! Love your celebration of the Chinese New Year! Don't you wish those little chairs were life size! The design is beautiful!
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