Bee inspired mantel

7.17.15- 

Sometimes things happen that you weren't planning on & it just makes you giddy with excitement!  That's exactly what happened around here yesterday. I got a sudden burst of decorating inspiration, ran with it & then next thing I knew I couldn't stop staring at our newly decorated mantel.  

{My girls were getting annoyed with me a bit, with all my squeaks & squeals of delight} 

-It's been a long time since I've been this excited about something. I just has to share & shout from the rooftops about-   

I know it's not a new month but it certainly is a new mantel that deserves a shout out & will probably replace the red, white & blue next year, on the upstairs mantel at least, for the whole month of July because well, it's just that cute!   

I live in Utah & our state's birthday is kind of a big deal around these parts.  July 24th is a big celebration from the top of the state to the bottom every year.  It's the day that the 1st settlers arrived into the Salt Lake Valley.  I've lived in Utah my whole life & I love all the beauty that surrounds us & especially our state's nickname of the Beehive State.  I think that's where I get my appreciation of bee's & all the hard work they do for all of us.  There are symbols of bees & beehives all over our state & the motto of Industry is tied to a lot of things & rightfully so, bees are the perfect example of industry, working hard & the sweet rewards that come as a result. 

The whole idea for my Beehive inspired mantel started with the vintage state map of Utah that I bought from an Instagram shop a few months ago. I like anything old, cool & of coarse something that has meaning attached to it so when I saw it for sale I just had to snag it.  Glad it's in the center of the mantel, set up on a mustard colored bench & stack of books so it gets all the attention, as it should!  

-Beehives of all shapes & sizes were put on display including a  tiny clay beehive my daughter made for me when she was in the 1st grade, so sweet!- 

With that as the centerpiece & the theme of "bees"  in mind, I wanted everything to be yellow, brown, creme & gold in tones & hues.  My favorite way to decorate is to just look around, see what I already have  & use it! With the theme of celebrating the Beehive State it wasn't that difficult because, as you might know, I'm kind of smitten with everything bee related.  Books, bottles, honey jars, glass jars, lights, hexagons & such were pretty easy to find.  Collections are such a good investment!! They pay off over & over again, so I guess I'll keep antiquing, thrifting & shopping. 

 - I love to collect old candle sticks & vintage bobbins.  They are the perfect solution to add height, interest & create levels to any space. Be on the look out for them, they are out there!- 

 These hexagons are so fun!  I asked my friend, Michelle, to make some custom ones for me, using vintage rulers I had been collecting. I wanted to use as decor at The Hive. 
{The boutique I host in my home- next one in September}  
I love how this one shows off some specific towns in Utah that I grew up by & frequent often. Such a perfect little touch!  

- a stack of books with a nod to this state, bees & hives- 

-You know that I love & talk about how important levels are to anything you decorate & this stack is perfect to set the state map of Utah up on.  How awesome is this College yearbook of my Grandma Hall's, from Utah State University, titled the Buzzer.  When I saw it I just had to ask her if I could have it. - 

-A lot of things up here on display have been gifts given to my by family & friends.  That always makes things extra meaningful. This glass beehive is a beautiful jar & I stacked it up on top of a old heavy plastic coaster I picked out of a junk yard, thought it worked well with the color scheme I wanted-  

 Can't get enough of these hexagon shapes, I might need to have my friend make me up a bunch more! More is always better, right?! 

-This vintage pop bottle was an awesome find & the little salt shaker looks so sweet tucked right next too it. Of coarse to keep things balanced & looking proportional on the mantel the pepper shaker is on display on the other side- 

When I stepped back & got to admire the entire mantel I was in LOVE!  So many of things I honor, cherish & adore up on display.  It just made my honeybee heart oh mine want to burst out of my chest.  It's the little things in life, right?  Simple things that really makes us happy. I can't imagine taking it down in a few weeks, so I think it might stay up a little longer than July 31st. Simply too sweet to take down anytime soon. 

 Now, just to keep it real like I said earlier when inspiration hits you have to go with it & if everything gets cleared off the mantel in a hurry. Clean up had to wait a bit yesterday until I stopped staring long enough at the mantel to put it all away, happy to say it all is now.

Hope you have a beautiful day!  Thanks for stopping by the blog & taking a peek inside our home here on Lilac Lane.  

{M}