Christmas mantel decorations (plus ‘big’ news)

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving break. We were able to visit family and friends in Michigan, my husband’s home state (Go Blue), which is always a treat. Sometimes it is good to take a break from the normal, don’t you think? Although I’ve found it can be tough to get back in the groove of things. 😉

Today I thought I’d share my Christmas mantel decorations with you. I’ve got a whole lot of decorating still to do (sigh), but at least this area is finished. Here’s a peek at the whole enchilada:

I definitely had a theme I was going for this year, which I’ve dubbed “rustic elegant.” I wanted the mantel to feel cozy and woodsy, but also sparkly and bright. Oh, and of course everything had to be budget-friendly.

The snowshoes were the most expensive purchase.

They cost a total of about $60 on eBay. I’ve been eyeing them literally for years, so I finally just sucked it up and bought them. Part of the reason I was OK with the $60 is because I know they can be used as decorations all winter long, not just at Christmastime.

I bought the fabric “Peace on Earth” print for $15 on clearance at HomeGoods.

I DIYed the faux birch candles about two weeks ago.

You can read all about how to knock off your own version of Pottery Barn’s birch candles here.

I fell in love with these fur stockings at Target. Once I touched them in the store, I was hooked. I think they were $13 apiece. Since we had our son two years ago, we’ve been one stocking short. So this was my opportunity to justify buying a matching set. 😉 We usually put up a stocking for our dog, Howie, too. But since I didn’t want to pay another $13 for a dog’s stocking, I decided to just use one of our old stockings and hang it up on a cabinet in the kitchen above Howie’s food and water bowls. 🙂 I dressed up the fur stockings with a few snowflake ornaments I had on hand.

For the tiny tree, I wanted to give it a flocked look, so I added some spray faux snow and fake cobwebs left over from my Halloween decorations. The wooden tags were extras I didn’t use in my Thanksgiving tablescape. I brush-painted them with gold craft paint, used a permanent black marker for the words, and hung them with pieces of twine.

I picked up this cute wooden reindeer years ago from a supermarket, of all places. I like to fill him with poinsettias every year. These flowers came from Sam’s Club.

My mother-in-law gave me the woodland Santa. I added some height by standing him on a wooden bowl turned upside-down. The gold sign came from the Dollar Tree years ago.

Everything else dressing the mantel is stuff I already had from Christmases past.

Have you decorated your mantel for the holidays yet?

Before I go, I wanted to give you some “big” news. Remember the BLACK+DECKER Your Big Finish campaign I participated in recently?

Well, my hallway molding project will actually be featured on a Times Square billboard! I consider that pretty “big” news. 😉

Now, in all fairness, many other folks’ projects will be featured there, too. In fact, your project could appear on a Times Square billboard! So if you’ve recently finished a DIY project and your family members haven’t given you the props you deserve, enter your project in the BLACK+DECKER Your Big Finish Home Renovation Contest. You could see yourself on a billboard and win $10,000. Find out more here.

Later this week, I’ll be back with more Christmas decorations and a few free holiday printables.