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Tag: decorating a mantel

JOYful Christmas Mantel

The hustle and bustle of the Holidays are in full swing, but I was able to step back from the craziness of it all this past weekend to revamp my mantel and deck it out for Christmas.

As a Blogger, I feel so lucky to have a platform to share my new creations.  When the time comes to create a new mantel composition, I push myself to always try something new and different, and raise the bar from the previous year.  Thus the result of my new JOYful Christmas Mantel…

Like with every mantel, I cleared off all the decor from my Fall mantel so I could see the space free and clear!  This always helps start the ball-rolling for my latest montage.  I’ll tell you, I don’t usually go into decorating my mantels (or many areas of my home) with a plan.  Once I see a blank slate, somehow it all starts coming together.

I will say though, I’ve had the idea to create this JOY sign for a while.  I thought it would look beautiful leaning against the new ebony stained wood board backdrop. Thankfully all came together and I’m so pleased with the result – I’ll be sharing a quick and easy tutorial on how I created the sign very soon.

Going for an asymmetrical look,  I added a gorgeous boxwood wreath next to the JOYful sign.  I scored this totally faux, but looks totally real, wreath at Lowe’s – I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love.  I love decorating with boxwood and cedar branches, and when I saw this, I grabbed it.  Well actually I thought about making it at first, but after figuring out the cost, this was a better deal.

In creating the mantel, I mixed in a few Christmas elements with a few non-Holiday pieces.  I couldn’t dare put away my fabulous white ginger jar that I enjoy looking at everyday, so of course there it is… (along with my easy-peasy presto-chango-with-spray-paint candle stick).  And I think they look great amongst everything else.

Some of the fun, festive decor that I added around it are the:  three sparkly mod Christmas trees, two brushed nickel Christmas stocking holders (which I got forever ago from Target), and one piece of birch log.

My burnt orange wall is a show-stopper in itself, but I always like to add a burst of color in another way.  With this mantel, I brought in a pop of yellow with a few sprigs of forsythia (totally wrong flower for the season, but I love the yellow with the red in the JOY sign).  In the same vase, I added some faux red berries.  Yellow + Red = Perfect Compliment!

The mantel is simple, elegant, and festive.  O, I truly wish you could see it in person!

The drop cloth and felt stockings are still a favorite of mine.  I made them last year and added metallic gold ornaments to give a little accent.

And here’s the overall space…

O, how I love thee!

Thanks for taking a tour of my Christmas Mantel 2012.  Similar to my recent tablescape creation, I mixed in items from around my home with dollar store deals and DIY projects.

Have you decorated your mantel for Christmas yet?  If so, please share the link below so I can visit. 

Looking for tips on how to decorate a mantel? {click here}

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Today’s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie

Autumn Mantel

I’ve been loving the cool temps over the past few days, have you?  For me, there’s no transition time once September hits.  A switch goes off in my head that says “Fall, Fall, Fall”.  Thankfully I haven’t dug out the sweaters yet, BUT I did gather some decor for my newest mantel for the coming season.

Autumn is almost here and after sharing a fun roundup of Fall Fireplace Mantels earlier this week, I’m ready to reveal mine.  But before we begin, I have a confession to make… I never showed you my summer mantel.  I had great intentions to, but it never happened.  No worries, because for Fall I didn’t change much and basically the reasoning is that I just love it. This years Autumn Mantel isn’t overly “themed” and actually isn’t really “fallish”.  Basically I kept it simple and added a few festive elements.  Take a look…

The change from my Summer mantel to now wasn’t that different or difficult.  Since you didn’t see the Summer mantel, this is what it looked like.  With the addition of the starfish for the warm months and the simple switchout to pumpkins and ghords for Fall, the mantel was updated in minutes.

I have to say, I’m really happy with the simplicity and monochromatic look of this year’s Fall Mantel.  For this mantel, I shopped my home for everything, except one piece – the tall white jar.  I had been on the search for something like it and when I saw this beautiful pierced ginger jar at TJ Maxx a few months, I snagged it up – it was attractive and for under $20 it was a must-have!  It’s height and detail bring so much character to the mantel.  Don’t ya think?!

All the other elements in this Fall decor were seen in last years mantel or were someplace else around the house.  The white pumkpins were a great score last year and weren’t always white.  If you recall, this is what I did…

It’s amazing what a little white craft paint can do!

In continuing my simple white aesthetic, I spray painted the candle stick white as well.  In my other mantels, it was brass, but not anymore.  Continuing, my estate sale found mason jars are still filled with lentils and beautiful, bumpy, bright orange ghords were added throughout.  I had to add some color.  right?!

Those tall glass jars are killer – loved them since the day I bought them which was a gazzillion years ago (more like 10+) from Crate and Barrel.  Ya gotta love the Crate!

The birds are another recent find that I purchased at a local home store.  They are dark brown, similar to the mantel color and almost blend right in, but they are so cute and add a whimsical touch to the mantel decor.

I think it’s so important to add varying heights and layers when creating a mantel.  Think of your mantel composition as a wave – it should go up and down as it moves across.  Need more tips on mantel decor? Check out my post on How-To Decorate a Mantel.  Looking at others mantels will also help inspire and give ideas.  That’s where my roundup comes in handy!

Here’s the overall Fall Mantel.

You might have noticed in some of the pictures that there’s somethin’ different on the wall?  Yup, that’s new.  There used to be a mirror there, but that got revamped and moved to the dining area. In it’s place is a new distressed stained sign, which was easy to create and is an awesome backdrop. Want to create something similar?  Here’s how…

Create a Distressed Stained Sign

1. Measure and cut lumber to the size desired (I used (3) 2″ x 12″ x 48″ pieces of pine)
2. Use (2) horizontonal pieces of lumber to secure the vertical pieces (I used (2) 2 x 4, but any size lumber would really work)
3. Distress the sign using a chain, hammer, nails, etc. to add as much or as little distressing as desired
4. Stain your sign.  I used the stain that I had leftover from my staircase which was Ebony, but you can use a lighter stain depending on the depth of color you want to achieve.

Pretty simple, right?!  I love how it brings height and depth to the space, yet still creates a great backdrop to the mantel decor.  And against the burnt orange wall, it really makes a statement.

Simple and Chic Autumn Mantel. Yes, I’m happy 😉

Have you started your decorating for Fall yet?  I’ve got my mums and ghords, and this weekend we’re headed to the apple orchard.  O, do I LOVE Fall!

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Today’s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie