Eclectic Spring Mantel

An eclectic spring mantel – just a way of saying use whatever you want – that includes an upholstering webbing banner, garden accents an a bit of pastel.

I’m definitely doing some spring decorating this year – I’m ready to wave goodbye to the cold & gray weather and welcome the spring blooms and sunshine, aren’t you?

So I shopped the house, crafted a fun banner, got out a few Easter-themed decorations, added greenery and flowers, and – voila! An Eclectic Spring Mantel.

Ha! Don’t you love how I’m calling it ‘eclectic?’ That’s just a fancy way of saying I can throw anything I want up there and call it planned.

One of the things I’m really loving is this easy spring banner I made with some jute upholstery webbing I had on hand.

It’s super easy to create an upholstery webbing banner like this, and if you’d like one, too, check out the quick tutorial at the end of this article!

Probably my favorite thing is being able to finally use this terrarium that I’ve had for years.

I have tried real plants and ironically, they don’t do well in this terrarium. The answer seems to be moss rocks and preserved ferns. Works for me!

Since I used some springy colors in the banner, I added a couple of pastel eggs – and adding these colors are way out of my normal comfort zone, let me tell you.

Not sure what I’m talking about? You can see one of my past spring mantels here, a summer mantel example here, and a fall mantel here that will give you an idea of my normal themes.

After adding living things in the form of an ivy topiary and a bunch of $3.99 Trader Joe’s flowers (love the flowers at TJs), a garden statue, and a few books it seemed to hit the right spring notes for me.

What about you, are you adding any color, greenery, or lighter decorations for spring?

Upholstery Webbing Banner Tutorial

Supplies

upholstery webbing (or any type of thick burlap ribbon) – here’s an Amazon link to where I got mine
chipboard or wood letters to spell “spring” – here are some similar to mine
6 different craft paints in springy colors (or colors of your choice – white would be nice, too) & paint brush
scissors, ruler, hot glue gun & stick of glue
jute twine

Directions

1. Paint the letters as you’d like. Some colors or type of paint may need two coats. Let dry while putting together the rest of the banner.

2. Make banner ‘flags’ from upholstery webbing:

Decide the length you want the individual flags to be by holding a chipboard letter on the webbing and allowing for room to fold the top over the jute twine (I cut mine to 5 1/2-inches).
Fold one webbing flag in half and on the fold mark up from the bottom 1 inch. Angle scissors from the mark to the outside corner and cut to make the notch. Repeat with remaining 5 flags.

3. Cut a piece of jute twine the length you need (decide where you want to hang the banner from and measure that) and space the flags evenly apart, between 2 to 3 inches between each.

4. Fold the top of one flag over about 1/2-inch, place the twine inside the fold and hot glue in place along the fold. Repeat with all the flags.

5. By this time the letters should be dry – dab a few dots of hot glue on the back of each letter and center on the appropriate flag.

I didn’t actually time how long this took, but I think it was maybe 15 minutes?

Whatever it is, it’ll definitely leave you plenty of time to enjoy other spring activities and enjoy some fun decor.