Glittery mantel

I couldn't wait to decorate the mantel this year. Unfortunately, work and other projects prevented me from finishing it until this week. I had purchased a $9 pre-lit garland from Target and during last year's after-Christmas sales, I had picked up two pre-lit 3ft. container Christmas trees for $25/apiece at Jo-Ann's. I set one on the mantel and the other outside. These were my foundation pieces besides the afore mentioned Keep Calm print and my hurricane.

My other purchases included a glittery Believe sign I picked up in Hermann, Missouri during our anniversary trip, a set of 50 gold shatter-proof ornaments for $15 from Target, 4 gold and 4 silver glittery snowflakes for $1 a package, and probably my most favorite finds for the mantel: a jingle bell G and one gold and one silver birdie (you know my thing with birds), which I picked up for less than $6 at Michael's. I repurposed some items I already had on hand, including little red glass balls, a Santa teapot that was my Mom's (I liked having a piece of her up there since it was her dream as well to fireplace), and the star in the corner is actually our tree topper that this preggo didn't like on her tree this year.

I loved how the mantel turned out for my first mantel. And in the process, it shook open some decorating vein in me! I want to decorate everything now. And repaint, but let's not tell my husband that!

I give you what my mantel looked like before:



And here's the Christmas after:

An exercise in staying calm

A couple posts ago, I told you how I was planning on having a print made of Craftily Ever After's Keep Calm and Merry On sign. Well, I did. And I had planned to slide it right into the frame Capricious gifted me with that held the Keep Calm and Gobble On (Just typing that makes me laugh) version she had made for me. What I didn't realize is that Miss Capricious is one fancy, detail-oriented lady (OK, I did realize this because she's my sister and usually it drives me nuts). Not only was her print an 11x16, she had had it printed on poster board.



It wasn't until I got to Costco and was waiting to check out that I realized there was no way my 8x10 was the same size. It was tiny in comparison. And glossy, like a Polaroid picture! Drats! I drove home determined to make it work. For one thing, the 8x10 print only cost me $1.70. Who can beat that? For another, I hate hate hate standing in line at Costco. (Seriously: How do Costco lovers do it? The deal just doesn't seem worth the chaos. Am I missing something?)



But never fear, because Capricious is here. The woman is like Super Woman. She once dawned a cape in college (I have a picture to prove it), and it's something I think she should wear everyday. When I told her what I did and how it wouldn't look as fantastic as her print because of the size, her answer was simple: Do a wrapping paper background. It'll make it pop even more.



Turns out I didn't have some fantastic wrapping paper that would complement that burgundy, almost brown of the print. But not all was lost: I happened to have a giant book of Christmas scrapbook paper with that very color. After holding up a few pieces and consulting you know who, a new sign was born and salvaged. And I just did as the poster said: Keep Calm and Merry On. The end result is fun and adds a bit of funky to my otherwise elegant mantel. I added a glittery snowflake to the top that I found at Target, four for $1. Love me some glitter this Christmas!

P.S.: Sorry for the crappy quality of pictures. My camera, an Olympus Stylus 710, is a sorry excuse for a camera. Next month we plan on purchasing a DSLR, just in time to record those monumental moments with the bambino. Until then, I'm keeping calm and snapping on.

On order

Tomorrow I pick up my Keep Calm and Merry On poster that will be the center piece to my mantel decor for Christmas. I'm so excited how my mantel is shaping up! Get your free download from Craftily Ever After.

Keep calm

As a thank you for hosting Thanksgiving, my sister gifted me with a framed print of Craftily Ever After's "Keep Calm and Gobble On." How sweet and awesome is that? I plan on replacing the print every season as appropriate. For Christmas, I'm going to print out the "Keep Calm and Merry On" version and hang it over my mantel. I think it'll be a perfect motto since I tend to hang on the edge with the surge of pregnancy hormones. Be sure to get your own print. It's free!

Hung by the chimney

When we bought our house, the fireplace was optional. We actually forked over some dough to have one put into our floor plan. It's a decision I'll never regret! I mean, how else is Santa getting in? And this year, I get to do what I've always dreamed of: decorate a mantel. I haven't quite decided how I'm going to deck it out, but I do know that the mister and I (and eventually the bambino) need new stockings—preferably one without a giant 49ers bear in a football helmet. Problem is, I can't find any I like—even on the craft mothership Etsy. I have, however, found some cute Christmas fabric, but I'm not sure I trust my instincts enough to buy fabric for something that will last this family years to come. I can't do too trendy, but I'm really digging this Riley Blake fabric. Thoughts? Too trendy? Not Christmasy enough? Should I go more Pottery Barn classic?

Tweet tweet from the mantel

One of the many things I love about my sister Chance is her generosity. When she was visiting, she and her little family went up to Atchison, Kansas for the day. But look what she got me at Nell Hill's! A bird for my mantel. Just what I've been wanting!




The mantel is still a work in progress, so don't be too upset I'm not showing the entire thing.

Can't get enough G

When Capricious graced us with her presence, I thought we'll go through my mismatched decor. Laugh our butts off at my lack of taste. And possibly slap some paint on the walls. And we did that and more. Mantel more. Homemade art more.

Because we struck upon a theme I could get behind—the letter G—we ran with it. Or rather, Capricious did and I just went along with it. Our inspiration was a black letter G that my other sister had given me for Christmas a couple years back. Capricious came up with the idea of using black frames I already had on hand and stamping some Gs on some patterned paper—items pulled from my stamping collection. Easy and cheap. And just the beginning of what I'm calling Project G. Here's how our creation turned out and a peek at the mantel.

For the mantel

I'm not decorating for Christmas this year due to the move. I don't want the stress of unpacking a tree and Jonathan's stash of one million ornaments (not kidding, our tree leans because of the number ornaments we have) and then repacking it all up. Even more: I can't even get to the closet where the ornaments are stored. Hello, we're getting prepared to make the biggest move of our lives! So of course I'm already prepared with lots of empty boxes.

But even though I'm not decorating this year doesn't mean I can't day decorate dream for next year. The year I will have a mantel. But I know nothing of decorating, and less of decorating a mantel. But when I saw Pretty Ditty's post on yarn trees, I thought: Well, that's right up my knitted heart alley. Can't you picture it?