How to decorate a mantel in between Christmas and Valentines Day.

When we bought our house not going to lie the most exciting part of it was the fireplace and mantel (granted when we bought the house it was bright orange with wood trim but I could look past that!) And so each holiday and season I keep stretching my crafty/artsy muscles to decorate it more and more.  I struggle honestly with the in between stretches.  Like right now its a bit too early for Valentines Day but sadly the Christmas decorations have been put away for next year, whats a girl to do?!?!?!  Well here is what my mantel looked like for Christmas:

Nothing too over the top but it does say Christmas right?

So what to do, well I use a fair amount of the same "staple" pieces in all my displays.  Things like the milk crate (granted I JUST got a hold of that right before the holidays but it will be a staple I can feel it!) , blue mason jars, and my white cake stand.  Then the rest is just fill in and switched out depending on color scheme I have going, vibe, feel etc.  Here is what my mantle looks like right now:

I kept most of it the same, popped up my lucky barn board sign (the New Year should be all about luck right!?) Threw in some pine tree branches, kept one poinsettia (truth time, I killed the other one!) Added a few other art pieces, popped in some silver and I have a display I am happy with until February when I can go all pink and glittery!  

Kept our family name up and added in two art pieces I had made awhile back, look at those sassy vintage girls, I strive to be as stylish as them but alas here I sit in yoga pants!

A few black and white silhouettes pop with the silver candle sticks and really the red of the poinsettia across the mantel.

Do you see, I still kept a snowman in the mix, just because Christmas is over the snow here in Wisconsin is far from gone!

So what do you think?  Do you keep your mantel decorated, what tips do you have, are you like me and can't wait to get it all pretty for the month of Love?  Lets chat in the comments!