A Christmas mantel (+ a new Christmas craft)

Can’t wait to share my Christmas mantel with you!!   I thought it would be hard to improve on last years, but I think I am loving this years even more! 🙂  Here’s a sneak peek…

But first lets go back and look at past years Christmas mantels.  I also want to show you how your decorating can improve and change as you find  inspiration online on blogs and Pinterest  and copy some of those ideas.

This was my mantel in 2009.  And I had done it something like this in the years past.  Not bad, and I loved displaying my snowman collection during Christmas and then leaving it up through January and February too.

During that Christmas, Renee over at Living, Laughing, and Loving introduced me to Thrifty Décor Chick and the world of décor blogs.  My life and home has changed tremendously since then!   I am a very visual person, so give me tons of ideas online in decorating (and FRUGAL ideas too!)  and I am in hog-heaven!

So after reading décor blogs for a year, I had tons of ideas when it came time for Christmas.  I was loving the more natural look with pinecones and berries… so I completely changed my mantel up adding boughs of greenery (bought at Michaels’ on Black Friday on deep discount!) instead of garland.  I also made the “JOY” letters (just painted some wood letters I bought at Hobby Lobby in red, distressed the edges and glued the ribbon on the back).  Also added were a pinecone topiary tree I bought for $1.00 at a yard sale on top of an urn that I spray painted (also found at a yard sale – are you sensing a theme here?)  and my tall candlesticks that I also transformed with spray paint a few years ago too.

What a difference!   (Yes, I got a new camera for Christmas that year too, that didn’t hurt either.)

So now this year.   I am always trying to change things up a little using things I already have or creating something new.  I saw an idea in a store window on the way home from church the week of Thanksgiving and knew that was what I was going to try.   I was still loving the boughs of greenery vs. garland, but I wanted it to “drape” instead of sit right on the mantel.

So this is what I came up with….

I loved the white mirror that I spray painted and used on my fall mantel so I knew that would stay.    The two topiary trees are back from last year along with a white feather one that I got on after Christmas-clearance last year at Michael’s.  The candlesticks are back along with the “JOY” letters although they have moved below the mantel instead of on the mirror.  I added a white vase filled with faux poinsettias borrowed from my tree stash and a wreath that I made last year over the mirror.

And my new addition this year was the red sign with the verse on it.    It was what I was working on last night when I mentioned on facebook that I was Christmas crafting :).

Here’s how I did that:

I bought a piece of craft wood from Michaels (4” x 36” for $2.99) and a bottle of red and white craft paint for $0.50.

I painted one side red.  While that was drying, I used a friends Cricut that she let me borrow (thanks, Judy!) and cut out my words on cardstock to use for a stencil.  Then I painted inside the stencil with my white craft paint.

I should have another picture here but let’s say some of my paint bled through and I was more worried about fixing that instead of taking a picture.  I did a little touch up with a small brush and some red paint and it was done!   

It is very light craft wood so I just stuck some command squares on the back and stuck it to the wall above the mirror.

The mantel is so pretty all lit up at night as we watch Christmas movies from the couch! 🙂

And here’s a sneak peak of my tree – coming up later this week!

How do you decorate your mantel?  Greenery, lights, stockings, candles . . . ?  If you have a picture posted on your blog feel free to post it in the comments and I will come check it out!

How about your decorating style?  Has it changed as you found inspiration and learned how to do new things?

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