Summer Mantel Decoration

A few weeks ago I got this idea for a decoration for my mantel.  I started the project and did it in bits and pieces.  The large accordion designs went very well and I like how the birdhouse came out.  This weekend I finished it but not before I almost threw the whole thing in the trash.  Do you ever get so frustrated with something you just want to chuck the whole thing?

My issue was connecting the pieces on the left.  I knew this was going to be challenging and I thought I had it all figured out. Hot glue can do wonders but it and my attempts at engineering weren't enough.  Finally I went back to an earlier idea to 'hang' the birdhouse from the top of the design sort of like it were hanging in a tree.  The project is still held together with odds and ends that balance the pieces. It's been on the mantel now for 3 days and it's still there so I think we are good. We have never had a fire in our fireplace and don't have gas logs.  If you create something for the mantel of a working fireplace be sure it is secured fully.

I'm glad I stuck it out as I'd put a few hours in by then and it does look pretty as a little change for summer and early fall.  I love birds.  The Basic Grey papers and embellishments were given to me by my friend Mary and I'm enjoying them thoroughly.  There are also some October Afternoon and other papers from my stash.  The bookpaper is available on my Etsy shop:  Lovely Layers Art. 

Here's a video that shares the project with a few brief instructions on some of the pieces:




Thanks for visiting today!