Loving Dollar Tree for a mantel update

I have rediscovered Dollar Tree!  We have a quiet, clean, and close-to-me one that I have been stopping in once a week or so.  I don't go just to spend money, but I do a 15 minute walk-through and always find something I can use.

This week's trip netted me two vinyl signs for a craft project, more of those styro balls, some snacks, and faux flowers.  Side story:  I was in Michaels' last week and spent entirely too much time walking around the Fall greenery/flowers looking for a neutral bunch to update a vase for the mantel.  I thought I'd found the perfect bunch, but when the cashier told it it was $9 (on sale) I said...um, nothankyouanyway.  Here is the original:

I put it together a couple of years ago, and while pretty, it's too much dark orange for what I had in mind now - more neutrals and softer colors.  At Dollar Tree I found two bunches of cream colored faux dahlias.  I pulled everything out of the vase and started over with the stuff I wanted to keep.  That cute vase was a Home Goods find several years ago, and the filler is Spanish moss from Dollar Tree.

 

I left a little Fall-ish orange, but the whole thing is less bushy now.  Simpler and more neutral.  And at $2, it was a bargain update. 

I pulled out the "Gather" sign that I found at the Target Dollar Spot last year, and added some burlap on the ends to disguise the clips.  And I think I will just leave it like that - pretty simple!