Joke's On Me!

This year, I wanted to keep our Christmas mantel simple.  Ha Ha ... *who* am I kidding?!
 

Meet our new buddy, "Buck."  He's the reason my thoughts of simplicity went right out the Christmas window!  He's a Virgo ... likes long walks through the snow covered forest ... annnd, if you stare at him long enough, you'll swear that he has winked at you!  The moment I spotted him at "New River Pottery" (an a-MAZING Christmas shop in Wilmington, NC), I knew I just had to have him as our holiday mantel guest of honor.

And, to properly welcome him to the family, I saw it only fitting to splash a few lights and ornaments to the wreath that came with him.  From there ... it only got worse!  Ornaments began to hang themselves from the top of the mantel:

A big, lush garland arrived on the scene ... only for me to add lots of ornaments, glittery garland and snowflakes:

Prelit topiary trees made their way to the mantel, too, but not before I placed them in cream urns I had on hand, along with *more* ornaments:

And, hmmmm ... where did Santa 1 and Santa 2 come from?  I must've purchased them while in one of my *Christmas comas* at HomeGoods!

And, after all of that I had to "believe" that I was done!

Needless to say ... somehow this ALLL came together to create this:

Not exactly *simple,* but we'll take it ...

And, while I know our sled would much rather be used to fly us down a snowy hill (that does NOT exist here in Myrtle Beach), I gave it no choice but to be dressed with winter greenery and faux skates and placed by the fireplace:

So much for a simple Christmas mantel, right?  I s'pose the only missing now is a warm fire ... next time!

So, please tell me ... do you always start out with one decorating plan and end up doing the exact opposite?
 

I'm joining up with:

Savvy Southern Style/Vignettes and Mantel Party
The Lettered Cottage/Christmas Mantel Party
52 Mantels/Christmas Link Party

Becca

Cardinals and Christmas in my Kitchen

I have always loved Cardinals!  

I remember when we first moved from California to Michigan 

and I saw my first Cardinal outside the window in the snow.  

I was in love.  

I took this picture last winter from my kitchen window.  

Thank you telephoto lens you kept me warm inside 

while I snapped away.  

This Cardinal hangs around in a tree right outside the kitchen 

for most of the winter. 

I watch him as I make coffee or do dishes.  

So I thought it was fitting that I filled my dish cabinet 

in the kitchen with sweet little Cardinals 

that I found last year at Target.  

Besides, they fit my red and white decor and dishes perfectly.

I haven't taken my red and white transferware 

out of my dish cupboard since I found it 

at an Estate Sale this summer.  

I have found a few more pieces and I am always hunting.  

I like to mix the old and the new, so I placed some 

William's Sonoma dishes that I have 

in with the red and white.  

These are the 12 days of Christmas salad plates.  

More "new" with the old.  

I'm always afraid of things looking too much like 

Grandma's house so I mix it up 

until I find the right balance.  

Crate and Barrel mixing bowls 

and an old Johnson Brother's platter pair well.  

Just a little greenery and some fluffy snow 

and you get the Christmas feeling.

Little mini stockings from the dollar bin at Target 

mixed with a runner from an Estate Sale.  

Vintage stockings hang below.  

My toile linens are wrapped up like a gift 

with a green grosgrain bow.  

I think it's going to be Christmas for a long time 

in this dish cupboard!  

I love this arrangement.

Of course you know that I decorated the top of the cabinet.  

More transferware in the lantern and an ironstone platter that I embellished by sticking letters onto it.  

Don't worry they will wash off.  

My new olive bucket is filled with real and fake greens.  

I tucked in a toile pillow for color.  

I hung up my new transferware pieces 

above replacing the green plates that hung there.

Yep, that's a lid up there too!  

Well, sometimes you have to improvise right?  

It's so pretty I can't let it sit in storage.  

I hope your decorating is going well.  

I loved having the music on and trimming the tree with Miss Beaux yesterday (OK, I had to bribe her with a Starbucks).  

We had fun looking at all of the old ornaments 

and laughing together.  

That's what the season is all about right?  

Mixing the old and the new... 

and a few Cardinals too!

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves,

XO Cindy

linking up to:
Kim at Savvy Southern Style
 
 Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
   Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

                                     Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Christmas Decorating~Let's Start With The Mantel

Where do you start when Christmas Decorating begins?  

I usually start by getting all of my decorations out 

and laying the boxes all over the basement floor.  

Lots and lots of boxes!  

I always have things that I have bought the previous year after Christmas, 

so I take a look at those items first.  

Then I plan my color scheme.  

It has been everything from red and green to all white to every color in-between.  

But the actual decorating always starts with the Mantel 

in the Living room 

and everything else is a take-off from that. 

Wanna take a peak at what I did this year?  

My Inspiration (because you always need Inspiration right? 

I would never get off of the sofa without Inspiration!) 

this year is this set of Angel Wings from Decor Steals.  

It's funny because I had been looking online for Angel Wings or a tutorial on how to make them and then Presto my magic shopping fairy (c'mon you have one too!) 

put them on Decor Steals for me.  

Thank You Magic Shopping Fairy!  

I Love You!  

Mr. Beaux, not so much...

I did some tweaking to the Angel Wings 

but I am going to wait and show you that later in the post.  

I am much too excited to show you the finished product!  

I think it's my favorite Mantel EVER!!!  

I'm calling it Ethereal Winter.  

No that's too ostentatious.  

How about Winter White Fantasy?  

OK, I'll work on the name.  

Snowy white light up Christmas Trees take center stage.  

And white glittery Reindeer flank the sides of the mantel.   

Feathery birds hang precariously 

from the abundant real greenery.  

The greens make the house smell so good!  

Peace On Earth is written on the Mirror.  

I like that it's so faint and quiet.  

 Little touches of bling add sparkle, like these vintage chandelier drops 

that I wired to the branches.

And these snowflakes from Nell Hill's store. 

Here is how I started.  

Mr. Beaux took a 1 X 12 and routered out the notch so it would just slide into place.  My mantel is not that deep so I wanted to extend it a few inches.  Also, I can staple gun the greens right onto this board and not have to worry about it.  

See how the sides go back around the mantel.  

It makes it look very finished and not like you just stuck a board up there.  

Mr. Beaux is so handy!

I primed it and painted it white.  

You don't have to nail it or anything, just set it on top and you are good to go.  

See!  It looks like it has been here all along!  

Mr. Beaux made the edges fancy too.  

I have no idea how he did that but if you really want to know I can probably get him to do a whole post about it.  

But there will be NO pretty pictures... just sayin.

I bought a bundle of green roping or garland from Costco and a few swags from Home Depot.  I cut the garland after draping it over the mantel and I stapled it down.

I like it really full so I took the swags that I cut apart and just poked the boughs under the garland so it hangs over the front of the mantel.

You can add as much or as little as you like.  To keep it fresh just spray it with water a few times a day. 

I dry brushed the wings with ASCP Old White because I thought they had too much wood and dark showing through.  Then I used Martha Stewart's glitter and glue to enhance the tips of the wings.  I know it's hard to tell in the photos but the one on the left is all glittered up.

I used the white glitter on the tips and edged it with the gold.  And now there is glitter from the kitchen to the Living Room.  

I am such a messy crafter!  

Here is a better picture of the glitterness.

I also dry brushed the mirror with Old White to lighten it up a bit.  Then I took a glitter glue pen that writes on glass and a stencil to write the words. The glass paint is also from Martha.  Boy, that Martha has everything!  

 I added my chair that I refinished this summer in front of the fireplace.  The colors really work with my mantel.  And don't you always need extra seating this time of year?

And there it is!  

My Peace On Earth Mantel!  

Now to get busy on the rest of the house.

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves,

XO Cindy

Sharing at:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
   Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

  Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

  Roeshel  at DIY Showoff

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 

   No Minimalist Here Open House Party 
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
 From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

                                     Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Movie Time!

Raise your hand if you're still full from yesterday!  I hope all of you enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I wanted to share one of my favorite trees that I just finished decorating for a client.  It's in a room (the "study") where a sweet family likes to unwind, play video games and watch movies.

 

They'd never put a Christmas tree in this room ... that is, until crazy me arrived on the scene three years ago and suggested a movie-themed tree to add a bit of whimsy to this space:

 

 

I tuck their son's favorite movies in here and there (and, this year, I added this fun movie scene prop) ...

The movie reel I also added this year is a great companion to the movie reel tape spilling out of the tree.  Who wants a handful of Mike and Ikes?



 

I just *had* to add this popcorn "bucket" this year, as well ...

 

 

Naturally, "Elf" is the perfect topper (I'm hopefully going to add sprouts of popcorn, as well):

 

 

I appreciate that my clients were so open to my suggestion, and truly hope that they'll enjoy the tree again this holiday season!

 

So, what about you ... do *you* like creating "themed" trees?