Christmas Mantle

Last year I wanted to create a Christmas Mantle that was not the norm...I decided to create some Christmas artwork and paint canvases to give my boring mantle some personality. I wanted at least one to have spiritual meaning, so we had a constant reminder of why we celebrate this time of year. I decided to paint one plain red (The coated needed for the background of these canvases took the most time. They need a lot of paint!) and hand painted the phrase, "For unto us a child is born..." For the two smaller ones I wanted to add some dimension. I decided to get some plastic candy cane sticks (harder than you think to find). I found some plastic candy canes, and after almost losing a finger, cut off the curved part. I then took a small wooden disc and painted it white to help center the sticks to create a sunburst. I found a wooden R and painted it and decided it would look good on an ornament for the third canvas. This year I decided to add some additional items to the arrangement (in addition to my stocking hangers). To give it some height, I added a wooden reindeer and a white birch tree. The tree wasn't high enough, so I put it on a candle holder to give it some flare and hight. The final touch was a Christmas Cactus, since it went with the season. Since I have a window above my fire place (weirdest place for a window and quite the decorating challenge!), it creates the perfect spot to boost plant growth. We'll see if I can get this Christmas cactus to bloom again!

Trees, Trees, Everywhere Trees...

Last year mom found a great craft project for her girls to try during one of our girls night out--Christmas Tree cones. We took poster board and created cones, then sprayed them with adhesive, and covered them with fabric. Then we decorated the trees with sequins, ribbon, and trimmings to give them pizzazz. While that sounds so easy, it was not! We spent an hour getting the poster board to cooperate and cut the bottoms square so we didn't create any leaning trees. Then we spent another hour spraying the adhesive and and getting the fabric on them, just right, without wrinkles or folds. Once we achieved our nine trees (three each), we sat back and admired our work. Mom was so proud of us. She was so excited and boasted these are selling for $50 on Etsy! I asked how much she spent all on all the fabric and supplies, and she said it was under $60...so we had to laugh. Luckily we got two more sets for the same price! I then decided a wanted a smaller set (the first set had the largest one at over two feet tall) for my kitchen table. I learned from our test and it was much easier (and cheaper, ha!) the second time around with a smaller goal. I now am enjoying my second season with my two sets of trees. I just need to figure out another room I can add them to!

Give Thanks

After the Halloween mantle came down, I must admit, I was a little sad. I had to hit Pinterest and get some ideas to transform it for Turkey Day. I always loved the phrase, Be Thankful, so that's were I started. I printed out a font that I liked on the computer and put a piece of burlap over it. I then took a sharpie and traced the letters and framed it. I also found a great printable to define Thanksgiving, along the same font and on a burlap background. I just printed it out and framed it as well. Finally, I found some pumpkins I had used in the past, and put them on candle holders. I pulled the whole thing together and really like the finished product!

Block Art

I found these blocks in the Halloween decorations last year. The front says Happy Halloween with a witch in the middle. I thought they were so cute, I wanted to keep them up a little longer...so, I turned them over and painted the black ones brown. I modge-podged some scrap book paper and found some great copper glittery letters. Give Thanks is a little shorter, so I improvised and added some leaves and a bird. Now I can keep them up a little longer, and appreciate that I recycled store-bought decor into a craft of my own.

Count Your Blessings

Last year mom and I embarked on a evening of Wine and Design at the pottery studio.

The instructor walked us through each part, from taping the edge to get a clean line, to tracing the letters to make them perfect. I then used some puffy paint to help add some dots and character.

It was a great evening and I walked away Count Your Blessings plate (well, after they fired it for me!). I was so excited this year to break it out for display after Halloween. It's a great reminder that we should be thankful for all we have!

Zig Zag Pics

I wanted a bulletin board in my office at work to spice up one of my walls. I found some fabric scraps and picked out some bold ribbon. I used my staple gun to tack the whole thing down to a batting-covered canvas. Now I can display some loose photos neatly with some flare!

Halloween Treats

It was time to decorate for Halloween and I was a bit disappointed when I got down my boxes from the attic. I hadn't crafted anything for this holiday yet and the boxes were a clear indication of that. I needed a mantle statement! It was time to get on Pinterest and get some ideas. Three things came into focus, a chevron pumpkin, a "boo" print, and "trick or treat" garland. The printables I usually found don't print as nice as I need them to...today wasn't any different. It was time to make my own. I found some scrapbook paper and some letters. I then printed out the trick or treat letters on my printer and cut them out. I had some fabric to use as the background and got out my glue stick to bring it all together. I gave up on taping the pumpkin, like Martha Stewart would do, and just decided to paint the chevrons myself. My three little pieces came together with my other mantle items and now I can be happy to walk by my Halloween display. Yay!