In general, I like to keep my mantle simple. It is only decorated differently during certain holidays...
Now, I don't have to remind many of you that my budget for decorating is small. Almost non-existant. But, I would venture to say, that most of yours is as well, or you probably wouldn't be reading this particular blog post.
Here is what I did...
Not too themey, not too cluttered, just simple and free.
Those pillar candles stay on the mantle almost year round. The wrought iron star was given to me by my mother a few months back, as well as that yummy berry blue candle. The flower and vase with rocks were purchased at Dollar Tree last year, but it is usually sitting inside my corner shelves in the dining room. And finally, that flag picture is printed right off the internet and placed gently on top of another picture inside that frame that is usually on my mantle anyway.And, as you may have seen in previous posts, the large floral picture never comes down. Not even at Christmas. I love it, and it is covering up some major hole-age left from the previous owners. My laziness prevents me from patching and painting, so a cover up will do!
So here is how we did it:
Roll individually and tape with double stick tape.
Cut out a cardboard circle and begin arranging.
The boys arranged everything with double stick tape, but we soon realized that mom needed to reinforce each cone with some hot glue.
Punch out a star in whatever color you wish...we chose solid red and white and glue in the center.
This helped me clean out my junk drawer. I found 5 thumbtacks, 5 Legos, 3 magnets, and a hand full of rhinestones. The magnets and rhinestones will be addressed later, but Caleb really wanted some cool thumbtacks.
We are also instating a Summer Homeschool program at our house in the mornings. The kids and I are at our best in the mornings before lunch, so we are trying to get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and get started. Caleb desperately craves a routine and HATES when school is out. So by lunch time, we are done and can enjoy the day!
We learned how to look up instructions on the internet, followed several steps to set up the experiment, and some basics of measuring and documenting. Here is the information sheet on the fridge....
The boys will take turns taking a weekly picture and measuring vine growth, and then will put together a chart of their choice in 8 weeks, when the experiment is over and we are ready to plant it. 
