A Mantel in "Transition"

This may or may not fall under the category of

"What was I thinking".

I had reached my "orange" threshold last week,

so all the pumpkins went away. 

(all my white and green pumpkins were stolen from the front porch

2 days before Halloween...grrrr...)

My velvet ones are still in the Dining Room

but everything else had to go...

the squirrels will be having a yummy Thanksgiving feast.

So here is just a little of my transition mantel from Fall into Christmas.

I love dried Hydrangeas any time of the year;

 they seem to be my "go to" if I'm low on ideas.

I also love these twiggy topiaries I found a few years ago.

so presto chango...I combined the two.

Please don't tell me if you hate it.

I'm trying to be avant garde here.

I know it doesn't look very festive, but it was time for a change.

After Thanksgiving I'll be adding some Holly to the white ironstone pitchers

 and some more Chirstmas-y embellishments.

This is bare bones.

So here was the Thanksgiving Mantel, 

but I've lived with it for the month,

and I needed something easy to take me into Christmas.

My Johnson Bros. platter always makes an appearance.

The longer I blog, the more I realize I'm most comfortable with Nature Inspired decor, and I seem to be going a little more pared down this year...it's still early, so please don't hold me to that.

So these photos are for my photo archives

so I can look back next year and know what I did...

and maybe come up with something new.

Oh, how I love the Bittersweet.

And I did think the little turkeys were cute 

sitting in the silver sugar bowls...

Hope you're having a great weekend.

I have more transition peeks coming,

joining these wonderful parties:

Mod Vintage Life
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Dwellings

xoxo,

Be Inspired #165

Hard to believe it's almost Thanksgiving! I'm having that age old struggle of still retaining some semblance of "Thanksgiving" while trying to get started on Christmas decorating. One less week to decorate and enjoy Christmas is not fair. 

Abraham Lincoln set the proclimation for a National Day of Thanksgiving and Praise as the 4th Thursday of November. For all his good intentions, clearly Mr. President didn't have to plan the festivities, cook the food, decorate for Christmas or buy the presents, all while trying to really enjoy the Season. It's too close to Christmas and not enough time to "regroup" plans and family. (Just a little fussing at how men randomly make the decisions...just sayin') 

Oh well, not to be a complainer...

let's see some fun from last week!

Chalkboard Turkey Vignette
from Katie at Upcycled Treasures

Kristin, from Sophia's Decor gave us two wonderful Fall posts;
Outdoors Autumn Breakfast

"Green" Thanksgiving Tablescape

You'll love Kristin's new Dining Room and her drapes are amazing!

Fall Hutch

from Cindy at Custom Comforts

Turquoise Numbered Display Cabinet

Distressed Donna Downhome

Gold Glitter Candles in China Cups
from Lydia at Pudel Designs

Spode Transferware Rare Find

at Nancy's Daily Dish

Paint Stick Evergreen Wreaths

from Jenna at Rain On A Tin Roof

Grape Blackberry Ricotta Tart

Anjana from the Corner of Happy and Harried

Be sure and check out 

Today's Sponsor 

Sweet Harvest Farms

Lot's of great stocking stuffers to choose from!

So glad you're here!

Hope you'll join in today for the party!

Please remember to turn off word verification. I tried leaving comments that didn't go through. I'm sure others have tried also.

Please have an individual link back to Common Ground within your post. I'd love to feature you. This is just part of the Party Etiquette.

Please no direct links to Etsy or Advertising.

Link up to three of your current posts.

Take a minute to visit a few of the other links.

Please be a follower of Common Ground.

Thanks a bunch for coming over to party each week, since next Thursday is Thanksgiving we'll start a day ahead of time, on Wednesday, then have time to find some Christmas Inspiration throughout the weekend.

xoxo,

Painted Ceramic Cornucopia and a Thanksgiving Sunporch

Thought I'd share a few of the little changes that have taken my sunporch from Halloween to Thanksgiving. I brought out some of my vintage turkeys, my wool plaid throws, and my hooked wool pillows. I always look forward to this time in November to make the sunporch all warm and snuggly. My passion for plaid goes wild in the winter, and if I could drape a tartan plaid blanket over every surface I would. hmmmm.... I may have already done that.

I almost forgot that I had purchased this ceramic cornucopia on sale last Thanksgiving. I think it must have come from Hobby Lobby, and was still wrapped in paper and in the sack, as it had been sitting on my shelves in my workroom since last winter. It didn't start out white, and I bought it knowing full well that it would have to go under the white paint brush before I could use it.

Yep, here it is, not bad, just not what I had in mind for it.

Some Old White ASCP did the trick with a little shading with some gray and brown craft paint, and a coat of  Minwax Liquid Poly. much better.

I have several turkey platters; this is one of the less expensive ones.

They're pretty much to be found at any flea market in the Fall.

Keeping the platter company is my white Turkey Tureen perched on a book.

My Fall "Seed Box" I made last Spring.

Click Here if you missed how I made my own "Vintage Seed Boxes".

I'll show you how you can make one for yourself.

One of my favorites in this transition is just to layer on the wool plaid blankets. Here's one on top of an old white mattelasse bed cover that I've been using. I love using white and neutrals as a base with my furniture, but going all white out here just doesn't work. It's cold and lifeless, so it always gets loaded up with seasonal color. 

I still have a little more "Thanksgiving" to share with you (I like to keep my web photo diary up-to-date), then I'll be doing the transition to Christmas. About now I always start removing the orange leaves and adding in my evergreens. My little Autumn trees are up now, and I'm enjoying the lights in the evenings, looks so cozy. Once I get my trees up, Christmas comes in little by little.

Do you have ways to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas without it being totally obvious to your Thanksgiving guests that you have ants in your pants for Christmas decor? 

 Savvy Southern Style
DIY by Design
From My Front Porch to Yours
No Minimalist Here
Share Your Cup at Mrs. Olson's
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home

 xoxo,

Today's Sponsor
Leslie Janson

The Marketplace: Etsy and Boutique Showcase

Are you all getting antsy for Christmas? As much as I try, this late date for Thanksgiving has me a little nervous. I want to get busy and get my shopping and decorating done so Christmas will be enjoyed. Losing a week due to a late Thanksgiving has me doing the shuffle. Let's take a look at some fun links from last week.

Glittered Pear Garland

Crafty Nest Supplies

Vintage Red Enamel Bowls

Gizmo and Hooha

Wool Christmas Stocking

Timewashed

Butcher Shop Handpainted Sign

Curly Headed Farmgirl

Vintage Bottle Brush Wreath

Seaside Rose Creations

Child's Red Vintage Folding Chair/Stepstool

Coco and Bear

Today's Sponsor

Eleanor Brown Boutique

This is a linky party that is for items that are FOR SALE only. You don't have to have a blog to link up. If you have a blog post about your items that's great too, but they need to be available to purchase. Please try to link to the individual item that you are selling if possible. Please be a follower of Common Ground and if you have a blog it would be so nice for you to grab the image below to share somewhere on your blog. (not mandatory, just nice).

Thanks so much for joining in for the shopping fun.

Remember this link is open all week, 

so check back in for newly added items.

Hope you have a great week!