Adding Pops of Spring Color on the Cheap

This year I had planned on doing an Easter mantel... I started to fix it all up and then realized that Easter decor and my big black framed mirror just don't jive.  In fact, it looked plain awful. 

My mantel everyday decor looks like this...

Wow, this is a bad picture, and I'm missing candles on my candle holders but you get the idea. :)

For those of you that will think the obvious... (move the big black mirror, dummy) it's not that easy.  My big black framed mirror appears to be just sitting on my mantel leaning on the wall but it is actually really heavy and wired to a screw in the wall at the top for safety, it ain't comin' down.

So, I gave up on the Easter mantel and decided to go for a spring theme instead.  It had to be spring-ish and go with black, black is not springs best color.  Hmmmm.

How about green and black??  I like it. 

Since green is a spring-ish color and I love how it looks with black I thought I'd go with it.  I started by adding my green candles and black candleholders.  This set the tone. 

I then added an apothecary jar filled with green apples for some more spring green.

I also added 2 little birds I got at Hobby Lobby for 80% off a while back.  I thought they kind of looked like victims of an oil spill but I liked them despite their oil-slicked look.  Plus, they are birds and birds are spring-ish looking (even if they look like oil spill victims.) 

I put up my favorite little greenery wreath on the mirror and then added some green leafy looking branches to give a punch of color to my "decorative sticks".

 


And WAA-LAA!  A Spring Mantel is born!

I think I like it better than my everyday mantel...

To pull out some more green I added my green leafy pillows (leaves count as spring-ish too!) to the couch.
and topped it off with my wheat grass as a coffee table centerpiece.  More spring green!

It feels much springy-er (spell check is going to love me today) around here with the touches of green and birds and I didn't buy anything new. 

You can do this too, even if you don't have a stash of extra decorations laying around like I do. 

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating Tip:  How to add a splash of Spring on the cheap...

First, choose a pop of spring-ish color that will work with your existing decor (think bright yellow or salmon pink) and just add little splashes of it through the room. 

If you really have nothing you currently own to work with you can do it on the cheap. 

Buy a can of spray paint in the pop color you chose (you may need a can of primer too depending on what materials you end up spray painting)  Then, shop your local thrift store.  Pick up a few picture frames and a candle holder, maybe a plate or a basket.

If you sew you can make an inexpensive throw pillow made of cloth napkins in your theme color.  If you don't sew (like me) you can get a plain colored throw pillow for around $10 at Wal-Mart... maybe you splurge on one of those while you're buying your cheap spray paint. 

A picture frame, throw pillow, candle, colorful decorative plate on a plate stand in the same or coordinating colors added throughout a room can add that touch of spring to your room that you are longing for (especially if you live in a colder climate!) 

So.... have any of you added some pops of spring color?  What is your color of choice this year??

Linking: Somewhat Simple, Fireflies & Jellybeans,  Under the Table & Dreaming, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Lettered Cottage