I love decorating my mantle for Christmas. But it was not always that way. I used to get so frustrated, and it took forever. The reason for my frustration was the fact that I had no plan. I would get all my Christmas decorations together and start pulling everything out. Winging as I went along, not good! If I can pass on any wisdom through my mistakes, it is to decide on the direction you are going and make a plan!
,Through my mistakes I learned to take my time. Like this year, I chose to use neutral colors and natural elements in my design. I then gathered everything I wanted to use and was able to finish the mantel in a shorter amount of time and thoroughly enjoy the process!
Here is our mantel. The first thing I did was add some greenery.
I connected two garlands in the center of the mantle.
When I connected the garlands, I made sure to leave enough to drape over each side of the mantle.
Once the garland was in place it was time to add lights. I always use battery powered lights on the mantle. This way I did not have to deal with power cords.
I intertwined the cord all through the garland.
I used twist ties to anchor the lights every few inches.
To give it interest and bulk I added different floral picks.
To save money, I purchased larger picks and cut them to make several stems from one.
To cut the stem I grabbed it with a wire cutter and twisted back and forth.
I made three stems and cut them down even further as I was going along
I did the same with the greenery picks. In this case, I made five new stems out of one.
I also used these pinecones from Michael’s. Love the color and the sparkle.
I wanted texture and interest, so I used two ribbons. One ribbon had white paint and sparkles, and the other ribbon was beige linen.
I started adding greenery and secured it with floral wire.
I combined the two ribbons and twisted them through the greenery. Wherever I wanted it to dip, I attached it with floral wire.
The combination of colors was exactly what I was looking for.
For the center of the design, I used two smaller picks and placed them with two of the pinecone swags.
Using floral wire, I was able to cascade another pinecone swag over the side.
I took what was left of the beige linen ribbon and made a bow for each candlestick. Then added some greenery and white berries to finish.
Mantel is done. Now on to the next project!
Leave a comment and share some of your holiday decorating. I would love to hear from you!
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