Hello friends, and HAPPY SUMMER!!! Today I excited to share some simple summer lantern decorating ideas for the June Pinterest challenge hosted by my talented friend Cindy of County Road 407. If you are visiting from French Ethereal or if you just happened to stop by today, I am so glad you are here. I am also thrilled to be joining twelve other blogging friends for this challenge! You will find links to each blogger’s beautiful post at the end of this post.

 

 

What’s a “Pinterest Challenge?”

Each month Cindy picks an inspiration photo from Pinterest to share with the bloggers who are participating in the challenge, then each of the bloggers recreate the photo with their own creative interpretation. This month’s beautiful challenge photo by Kelley Nan features a simple lantern on a fireplace hearth.

 

It was very easy to recreate this classic and elegant look. As you can see, Kelley simply filled a pretty, rustic lantern with some moss and a tall candle. Although there are many different and creative ways to fill a lantern, I wanted to stay as close to the challenge photo as possible with my own lantern styling. I also took note of the tall vase/urn filled with greenery branches and decided to add those elements to my design.

 

 

Recreating the urn and greenery was easy since I already had two boxwood sphere topiaries in rustic French urns flanking the fireplace. I also brought in my ficus tree and placed it behind the recliner to add some leafy texture.  I chose the larger of my two new lanterns to put in front of the fireplace next to the urn. I placed a pillar candle in a large mossy nest inside the lantern. I also added some extra moss to cover any of the metal that was still showing around the outside of the nest.

 

 

As explained above, the purpose of the challenge is to re-create a vignette or styled space based on a Pinterest inspiration photo, but the fun part of the challenge is to see how everyone adds a bit of their own personality and decor styles in their individual posts. To mix in a little of the “music teacher Amber,” with the “vintage lover and collector/home and garden blogger-Amber,” I added vintage sheet music to the pillar candle.

 

Super Quick and Easy DIY Sheet Music Candles:

Cut some vintage sheet music to fit around a candle and tape it with Scotch tape along the seam on the back (or use a glue stick.) Since the sheet music is flammable, these DIY candles are for decorative purposes only.

I only burned mine for a few minutes while taking photos, but I have some other plain candles or battery operated ones for when I want to enjoy the glow of candle ambiance for an extended time.

 

I sure am glad the inspiration photo for this month’s challenge was a simple close-up shot, because I was able to mimic it without needing to do a full room shot or without even having to show the rest of the fireplace. Below is a photo of  the “behind the scenes” reality of what was happening just to the center and right of the lantern while I was taking photos for this post…

 

 

I am right smack dab in then middle of finally finishing the fireplace tile makeover I had started a year ago, using a different faux aging technique than the one I had previously tried. What should have only taken about an hour to finish has been delayed by the rain, rain, and more rain! Our house is somewhat shady even on sunny days, so on really rainy days it is way too dark to do any kind of painting even with lights on.

 

Just to illustrate, this is what we have been dealing with! Oh well, at least I had enough time to finish the left side of the tile and had a chance to take some photos in between the rain. As long as the sun comes out I should be able to get it finished up tomorrow. If the weather cooperates  and I can get lots of nice photos over several days, I will share a Summer Home Refresh Tour during the second week of July with a reveal of the tile makeover and some other new changes.

 

 

I am really loving my new (Hobby Lobby) lantern! The only lanterns I had before this challenge were three small ones out on our back porch, but they are currently filled with water and splashed with mud from all the rain. I usually try not to buy anything new for these challenges and use what I already have, but I had been wanting to buy some pretty indoor lanterns for quite a while anyway, so in this case I made an exception. I really loved the style and design of this particular lantern and I knew it would fit right in anywhere in our home.

 

 

The lantern design reminded me of our windows in the dining room. You can see the windows and the lantern at the same time while relaxing on the sofa in the living room. Even though the patterns aren’t exactly the same, the styles are similar, making the lantern a nice decorative accent for the fireplace hearth. I do like to move things around, so you will probably see the lantern appear in the dining room in future posts too.

 

 

My other beautiful new lantern from Pier 1 is in the music room on the piano. My husband hadn’t seen the lantern in the inspiration photo so he didn’t know what style of lantern I was looking for, but when we went lantern shopping he picked out this beautiful ivory and gold lantern, saying, “this one is all you… you have to get it!” (Um, well, if you insist…) He was right, don’t you think? I love the shabby, vintage, French style of the design. At first I tried it out by the fireplace but it was way too small.  Then I tried it up on the mantel but it was too big. Finally I tried it on the piano and I think it is just right! It might end up somewhere else in the living room in one of my ever- changing vintage vignettes but for now I am loving it here.

 

 

I used a smaller mossy nest as a snug candle holder for another one of my sheet music-wrapped candles.  The lantern fits right in with the rest of the treasures in my summer vignettes on the piano. If you love coastal style you can fill a lantern with shells instead of moss. I might just do that with the shells I find on our beach vacation coming up in three weeks!

 

 

The lantern fits right in with the rest of the treasures in my summer vignettes on the piano. Now that July it is officially summer I will be adding more coastal vibes throughout our home. I love my old Kentucky home, but I am also a beach-loving girl at heart!

 

 

During all of this rain I have been working rather hard inside the house doing some deep cleaning, organizing and redecorating. During the rainy evenings I am just taking some time to relax while enjoying some of my favorite decorating and gardening books.  The lanterns are so cozy and perfect for making rainy, summer evenings a little more special. I have certainly enjoyed this challenge and now I am excited for all of the decorating possibilities with my new lanterns throughout all the seasons.

 

More Simple Summer Lantern Decorating Ideas

Here are just a few more simple summer lantern decorating ideas that I love:

 

Thistlewood Farm

Simple galvanized lantern filled with a single potted plant

 

 

BHG

Simple arrangement of several candles of varying heights in a rustic lantern

 

 

Stonegable

Tall wood lantern simply filled with a chippy-shabby candlestick and candle

 

 

Start at Home Decor

Simple lantern filled with flowers as a summer centerpiece

 

 

Cottage In The Oaks

Lanterns  and candles as simple porch and garden decor

 

 

Lilacs & Longhorns

Simple galvanized lantern and candle in a pretty summer vignette

 

 

Woodgrain Cottage

Simple farmhouse styling with grapevine nest and a candle in a hurricane globe layered in a rustic wood lantern

 

 

French Country Cottage

A simple tablescape with multiple mismatched lanterns as a centerpiece on an outdoor table

 

 

A simple seaside vignette with a unique, rusty lantern filled with treasures of the sea ~The Charm of Home

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I have styled my pretty new lanterns as well as the little round up of summer lantern decor ideas that I found to be inspiring. Be sure to check out all of the links below for even more inspirational simple summer lantern decor. I know you will be amazed at all the creativity!

Do you enjoy decorating with lanterns? I love hearing from you!

Thanks for visiting today!

Amber