Friday, May 25, 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Tips for Prop Styling In Your Home or Business… Part One


First of all… what is Prop Styling?   Well… I’ll tell ya…

in short… it is a term usually linked to commercial displays for magazine photo shoots, commercials, movies, etc.

Prop styling involves (along with other responsibilities) arranging items/props in a visually pleasing way that accents a product, a theme, a room, etc.  Most people who do this for a living are called prop stylists.


I use to work in retail visual display for many years… another avenue in prop styling.

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From soft goods (clothing)… to hard goods (home décor)…

Saturday, May 19, 2012

My Very Colorful Summer Mantel: ‘The Potting Shed’


I am really enjoying changing out my mantel for the seasons!

I even find myself thinking of different things to do before the next season even gets here.

That is why I went ahead and decorated my mantel for summer…

even though summer is about a month away.

I guess you can call it Mantel Mania!!

In fact… for summer… I am thinking about doing two different mantels with two different looks!!

For this mantel…

I made a picket fence.

Very easy to do.

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You can buy these for @ a $1.27 at Lowes and all you have to do is cut them.

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I made mine to fit my mantel.

Anywho…

when I think of summer, I think of words such as…

 bright, colorful, happy

and that is what I put into this mantel…

((for at least the first part of summer)).

Let’s just say… I’M NOT AFRAID OF COLOR…LOL!

I call it ‘The Potting Shed’.

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Do you see the bird’s nest Mrs. Robin left me in my cherry tree?

Lovin’ it with some painted eggs.

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The shutters… a great find at Habitat’s Restore for $2.00 a piece.  I used some last year to make shutter signs on another wall in my entry way…CLICK HERE.

I debated painting them… they were a natural tone… but glad I did… I actually still have more unpainted ones to use elsewhere.

But I love these colors for the summer!

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I’m wishing I had lots of colorful throw pillows for my sofas… I may have to come up with something!

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My husband thinks it’s very tropical looking.

I agree…

Maybe it’s a potting shed you would find in the tropics?  Ha!

In fact…

this color infusion in my living room makes me want to go on vacation already!  I must have been subconsciously thinking about the beach when I created this mantel…LOL!  :)

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So there you have it…

my VERY colorful summer mantel.

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Hope you like it… lots of color… lots of joy!

But because I have mantel mania right now…

I may do ANOTHER mantel for the second part of summer!

We’ll see!!

stay tuned…

The Lettered Cottage

Are you having trouble getting started with your mantel display?

Here are some tips I offer in a two part post on prop styling in your home!

Click here to read!


Here is a slideshow of seasonal mantels I’ve created in my home…