FREE Christmas Mantel

I have done the red theme for the past several years on my mantel, and I wanted a more natural, softer look this year. You know, you gotta mix it up every once in a while.

Since I have a plethora of red decorations for this space, I couldn’t really justify spending a lot of money on new items. So…I had to get creative.

Thanks to some inspiration from Stephanie Lynn, I cut up some old sweaters I had and used the sleeves as little “socks” for some vases I had in the basement. I hot glued the base to smooth out the bottom, but the tops just have a natural tension that wraps around the vase.

I think when you use a monochromatic scheme, you need to incorporate some texture to vary it. Luckily, the free sweater sleeves did just that!

      

The garland itself? Well, it’s a whole bunch of hodge podge. I used the garland I’ve always used on the fireplace, but I wanted it much airier, fuller, and (again) textural.

I went into my backyard and clipped a bunch of long-needle pine branches. I don’t suspect they’ll withstand the heat of the fireplace for very long, but they sure are pretty!

My neighbors never trimmed back their tall, ornamental grasses from this summer. In true creeper blogger form, I ran next door and clipped a bunch of them off.  It was just the filler I was looking for!

I will admit that resting the garland on top of the mantel definitely intrudes upon your decorating space. Getting all those candles and stands to stay straight felt like the clown spinning plates at the circus. I’m going to choose to walk away. For now. And not let it bother me.

I’ll be linking up to Layla’s place later today for her “Holiday Home” mantel party. Come join the fun!