Magical Mantel Decor

Truthfully, my ‘Magical Mantel Decor’ isn’t really magical.
It can’t grant you three wishes.
It cannot get rid of that zit before the big holiday party.
It can’t make you lose ten pounds.
But, it is pretty and shiny and oh, so very easy to do.

And that, to me, is a recipe for ‘Magic’. Plus, this decor is inexpensive. Therefore, Biceps thinks our Mantel Decor is magic to our budget.

All that you need for your own Magical Mantel Decor is:
Metallic Spray Paint and a drop cloth/plastic sheet
Desired Christmas Ornaments
Tinsel (not pictured)
Felled tree limbs-or go and cut them off of your living tree, while apologizing to it. That’s what I did.

Spray the tree limbs with the metallic spray paint. I recommend doing this out of doors, unless you like that fuzzy headed feeling. Let the limbs dry.

Place tinsel on the mantel before arranging the silvery tree limbs. Hang glittery Christmas bulbs from the limbs and intersperse them on the mantel itself.

And try not to drop any of them.

Stand back and take in the amazing thing you just created. Smile at your geniusness, laugh at your dusty pocketbook, scoff at stores selling ‘mantel decor’. You, my friend, have conquered your mantel.
Be proud-or humble. Whatever you think Baby Jesus would recommend.
(PS-I have had several peeps asking me about the MIRROR above my mantel. Here’s the link, if you would like to see a tutorial on how to make it for yourself!)

Silver Twig Christmas Wreath

Due to my crazy house that sports two front doors, I needed two different wreaths for Christmas this year.
I wanted the wreaths to be complimentary, but not matchy-matchy. I don’t do ‘matchy-matchy’.
(Go here to see my other wreath: Whimsical Christmas Wreath)

I made my one-of-a-kind ‘Silver Twig Wreath’ in less than an hour. And that’s even with the time it took me to smash my thumb and say a PG word when trying to hang it up on my second front door.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Silver Twig Wreath:
Metallic Silver Spray Paint
1’ to 2’ sections of Tree Limbs
Needle Nosed Pliers
Wire Snips
20 Gauge Galvanized Wire
Plastic or Paper drop cloth

For fun decor on the wreath: scavenge the house for sequins, tiny little birds, metallic circles, feathers, old ornaments, etc. I used a hot glue gun to apply the fun decor. (Hot glue gun not pictured due to my brain fart).

I cut my twigs into 1’ to 2’ sections, using my wire snips. I know this isn’t what wire snips are for, but…I am naughty that way. Using 3” sections of the galvanized wire, I joined my twiggy sections to one another.

Wrap the galvanized wire around the joined limbs, tucking the pointy ends underneath.

I continued this pattern until I had a nice wreath shape. I wasn’t worried about it being perfectly circular, and neither should you when you are making this. Perfection is highly overrated when it comes to crafting…

I sprayed my imperfect circular wreath with my spray paint of chose, as of late-Metallic Silver. It makes everything look very ‘ooh and ahh’…

Once the wreath was dry, I added birds and metallic circles here and there at my leisure. I even used the decor to cover over the wire. Pretty sneaky, eh?

In order to hang the wreath from the door, I simply tied a black ribbon onto what I deemed as the ‘top’ of it. I also added a vintage jingle bell to the center of the wreath-alerting me of intruders-or visitors…whatever you want to call them. You say ‘potato’, I say ‘puh-tah-toe’…

Simple, different, pretty and sparkly. The ‘Silver Twig Wreath’ is a fanciful addition to the second front door. And I like fanciful things very much, let me tell you.

Retro Reindeer Stocking

After making my Retro Christmas Tree Skirt, I was inspired to update some of the other decor around the ‘ol house for Christmas. This picture from 2009 shows Biceps’ stocking in all of its ridiculous glory. His stocking is far left, Cowboy is in the center and mine is far right.

Notice the sheer enormity of his stocking? He believes it entitles him to more presents…
Not only does his stocking stretch as the weight increases, but the knit of the stocking allows you to see anything inside of it-thus you must wrap everything. After years of dealing with this silliness, something had to be done.

With the leftover material from my Retro Christmas Tree Skirt and the green light from Biceps, I decided to make us Retro Reindeer Stockings that were the proper size a stocking should be.
This is the man’s version of a Retro Reindeer Stocking….

And this is the lady’s version of a Retro Reindeer Stocking.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a pair of you very own Retro Christmas Stockings:

Felt-several different scrap colors that float your boat and enough to cut (4) pieces of approx 2’ stockings-8’ squared of total material
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Ric-rac or other desired embelishments
Card Stock or your favorite stencils

Trace a simple stocking shape onto the material and cut out four total pieces. Mine measured approximately 16” tall and 10” wide. With two right sides together, sew a seam around the stocking, 1/4” away from the edge and leaving the top open.

Cut a 7” loop of ric-rac. Turn the sewn stocking right side out. Fold the top down a 1/2”, turning it inside of the stocking. Insert the loop of ric-rac on the edge of the stocking and sew a 1/4” seam around the top of the stocking.

Use your favorite stencil, or draw a shape onto cardstock that your little heart desires. I chose a tree for each stocking and also a boy deer with antlers for Biceps and a girl deer sans-antlers for yours truly.
Cut out the shapes that your little heart desired on you felt scraps.

Hot glue your felt shapes onto your stocking. Add ric-rac on the toes, heels and the top of the stocking.

I gave a little ric-rac embellishment to each deer’s neck…

…and added a bow to my ‘girl’ deer.

And then, I hung my Retro Christmas Stockings up by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nick can fit a ’66 Mustang in there.
Or a diamond tennis bracelet.
Or just some gum. I’m easy to please.

Super Sparkly Snowflakes

In one corner of my living room stands a silver tree, adorned with vintage ornaments of blue, black and silver. In the other corner was….nothing. Who will save this corner from boredom and shame?
-(insert trumpet call)-
Super Sparkly Snowflakes will!

That was a bit dramatic-I know. I have a tendency to lean that way…
I am just so excited how the Super Sparkly Snowflakes enrich an otherwise boring old corner of the room.

Here’s a close up of the snowflakes as they sparkle away. They’re pretty good at that. These Super Sparkly Snowflakes were also super cheap and super easy to make with super sparkly results.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Super Sparkly Snowflakes:
Hot glue gun & Sticks
Wire cutter
12 & 16 gauge silver wire
Sequins, jewels, etc
Silver Spray Paint
3”-ish foam discs, orbs, or whatever shape you desire
Toothpicks or shish-ka-bob skewers

Poke the skewers or toothpicks into the desired pattern on your foam piece.

Spray both sides of the snowflake and the skewers with the silver spray paint.

If desired, use the 12 gauge silver wire as accents on the snowflakes. I curled one end around a pencil and stuck the other end into the foam piece.

Use a hot glue gun to attach the sequins or jewels to the tips of the skewers. I integrated a pair of needle nosed pliers to this operation because I was tired of burning my flesh. Genius, right? It only took me several ‘dang-its’ before I figured this out.

I added more jewels to the center of my snowflake

Thread the 16 gauge wire through your snowflakes. I interspersed black and blue Christmas balls between the snowflakes for a little bit of color.

Here are the snowflakes against a green wall so that you can see some of their definition.

And this is where they eventually ended up-livening up the very un-Christmasy corner of my living room.
Super Sparkly Snowflakes saved the day again! Super!