Tuesday, December 13, 2011

decking my mantel.

hey all! i hope everyone's holiday season is going so well! we're having a good one around here. this past weekend we finished almost all our shopping. 1 more person and that's it! so needless to say, there is wrapping to be done. major wrapping.

the good news is i already got a big chunk done.. but at this rate i might just be handing some people their presents in the store's shopping bag... maybe i'll put some tissue paper in there too.. nooo, i would never do that! it's tempting though. especially for those weird shaped items that don't fit easily in the boxes i bought. what do you do about that?! they take so much extra time to figure out how to wrap nicely... *sigh*... wrapping isn't my favorite part of the holiday if you didn't notice : ).


i realized i quickly showed you my christmas decor, but i didn't really show details or talk much about it, so i figured i'd do that for you. i'll start with the mantel, my favorite part!

this mantel was NOT my favorite part to do, however. it took for. ever.



i decided i wanted my garland to swag this year. the stuff i've been using every year (i literally take it off the mantel and stuff it in a box for next year) wasn't long enough to swag. so i had to take it all apart first. i had 2 walmart garlands wrapped together and some pretty fancy garland on top of that. i decided to go a little more natural so i bought 2 more simple 9 ft garland strands from michaels and one of their decorative ones.

since the michaels garland was a little different from the walmart garland, i took 1 of each and wrapped them together. then i just twisted the ends together. it's a little fatter at that section, but it just so happened to be right where the stockings go so it was perfect!

the decorative strand is gor. geous.





isn't is pretty?! i love it!!

it has all different kinds of needles, which i wanted for added texture. it also had those gorgeous pinecones on there (big fat ones!), red berries scattered about, and there are these random little twigs that stick out too. it's so beautiful! i added the red ornaments for a little extra color in there. 

to save money, the decorative piece only goes over the center. it was half off at michaels, but it was still way too much to buy numerous pieces. maybe if they have this stuff again next year or at the end of the season i can get a couple more. 

the pointsettias are felt. i made them using this tutorial from centsational girl. it was very time consuming for me, but i ended up making 15 of them... which is a lot... 6 of them were for my mom then i made the rest for me. but they add so much so it was worth it.. at least that's what i'm telling myself.




so pretty, right? tell me it was worth it. : )


 the rest of the mantel is very different from last year. i didn't have enough space for much on the mantel last year since the garland took up all the space. however, since i met mister swag this year i had so much room i wondered what to do with it all!

on one side i wanted something tall and kind of greenery-ish.


i just realized this mantel is basically brought to you by michaels. i saw that vase at michael's and i fell in LOVE with it. for real. i did that thing where you leave and all you think about for 2 weeks is that perfect vase that you just have to have. well then my husband went to michaels with me one day (i know. he's awesome.) and i saw it half off! and i said, ohmygosh!it'shalfoff!!! and phil said, oh i'll buy that for you.... : )


isn't it beautiful?

so i stuck a pick i found at michaels, also half off and i actually took the sparkly leaves off a present i got from my brother and his girlfriend for christmas. she wraps presents so beautifully and i loved those leaves so much i used them on my mantel haha. i just wired them right to the pick. done. the sparkly bird was like, $1 at michaels one day. easy.

i knew what would be on the other side since october. i bought a gorgeous reindeer at homegoods in early october because well, it was so different and beautiful. plus i have a thing for deer. and birds.

sorry for the fuzzy picture. i swear i have about 50 pictures of this guy and not one is perfect. they are all blurry or too dark. hmm. but he's beautiful and you can still tell : )


the wreath is the same grapevine wreath i've had up since the fall. i just took out the white pumpkins and added red hydrangeas and some cheap walmart ornaments. i was so lazy i didn't even take it down to do it. i just put red felt over the pink ribbon that holds the wreath up. la. zy.



across the room i pulled out my old red pillows and put out my new pottery barn pillow!!! i got it as a gift from my brother and his girlfriend.. you know, the gift i borrowed the sparkly leaves from? i LOVE it so much!

isn't it the cutest??!!!


i also put a pick in my coffee filter flower arrangement. i like it so much, i wish i could keep it like that all the time...

so simple but it's one of my favorite things i did for christmas.


so that's the living room. hopefully if i can get myself together i'll show you the rest of the details later this week. i just love my home all dressed up! 

2 comments:

  1. I am still inlove with your swag; it is so gorgeous Jessica! And those felt flowers, totally worth it :-)

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  2. your photos look amazing! the felt poinsettias are my absolute favorite and i agree, they were well worth the time :) thanks for breaking everything down for us, really enjoy your decor posts you are so good!

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