a burlap wreath and magnolia leaves make a light, simple, fresh and natural summer fireplace mantle

Recently I made a burlap wreath inspired by Lori at Girls in the Garden's Ballard Design wreath.  (You can read how I made this wreath here)   I have to say I LOVE my burlap wreath and decided to keep the mantle decorations simple, natural and fresh using only a few items and Magnolia leaves picked fresh from our beautiful trees.   Had to keep my recent Redneck Wineglass birthday present up there too - faaar right.  :)

Living in the South, we're all about nature and outdoor living here, so Magnolia leaves seemed a natural choice.  We enjoy a grand old (50+') Southern Magnolia to the side of our house that shades our chickens, as well as a smaller Little Gem hybrid variety my husband planted a few years ago beside our drive.  

Magnolia grandiflora

Both bloom extensively and effusively and there's nothing like the smell of a magnolia bloom wafted on the warm summer breeze!  Too early for blooms yet this season, this bloom is from last year.  But look at those beautiful, glossy leaves.  That's what I wanted to use.

Thought I'd show a closer view again of how the wreath was put together.

Our corner fireplace was built of rock with a custom maple mantle.  See how it wraps around?  This is actually an odd place for a fireplace:  in a corner, topped off (shortened!) by a bulkhead, soaring ceilings to 30' above that, our Master Bedroom doors to the right, sliding glass doors leading to the back deck to the left.  Odd.  But it works.

Simple, bringing a little bit of nature into the house.  I also used Magnolia leaves in a few other places throughout.  They've dried beautifully keeping the glossy green leaf top, with rust/browns peeking out here and there from the underside.  After picking the branches of leaves, while they were still fresh-cut I arranged them how I wanted.  After a few days they've dried nicely.