A Christmas Mantel At CCH
Tis the season to Deck the Halls or mantel. One mantel style this season & I am so happy how it turned out. Layers & layers of garlands & textures, oh my!
When I envisioned Christmas this year, I only saw garlands, several throughout our home. Each one would be grand in its way. But the one on our fireplace mantel would be extraordinary & just a little more on the WOW side. It turned out better than I imagined & thankfully, I will not be changing our mantel as I have in previous years. So, let's dive into a chat about how & what I used.
Items Used:
5-6 (I can't remember now) Real Touch Norfolk Pine Garland
Collected stockings of different textures & colors but all have a neutral vibe
A few finishing nails... sshh Billy thinks I used command strips for all but sometimes you need a few in certain spots.
Creating The Garland
Well, I just went layer by layer, LOL! I started with the greenery as the base & layering the rest. I laid the greenery flat & swagged the rest of the garlands. I fluffed as I went along, which is essential to do vs. at the end. It allows you to see where you need more of something or less of it. A few nails were added at the end, so unnecessary holes weren't made between us. I added the zip ties in areas where I connected the greenery. I placed command strips at the ends & two in the center. In the command strips, I put the ends of the garlands. Once all was secured, I added the twinkling lights since the strand is wire & didn't need to be secured by anything else. The beauty of twinkling lights on a wire strand is they are lightweight & easy to adjust. On one side, I attached the stockings by adding zip ties to each stocking. The zip ties are at different lengths to create, yes, depth & layers. & we must remember the layers of ribbons, different widths, textures, colors & lengths. For bows, I only tied one each of the ribbons & layered the rest on top, cascading down. The garland is grand & oh-so beautiful.
Above the mantel has taken a change, something I was nervous about. Since moving in a few years ago, I have kept the books, yes, the famous books that are seen in many of the photos across the blog & on Instagram. The books serve a purpose. They hide the feet of the TV & the endless cords that I wish weren't there but are needed so Billy can watch every sports game known to man. But I wanted to have the mantel look completely different & ready for the season. I removed them & added the Village Tree Collar; yes, the tree collar, I know! But at CCH, I love to reuse items in different ways. I had contemplated using battery-operated candles. I would need a lot, but in all honesty, I didn't want to use all the batteries in the house, so when I received the tree collar & saw that they ran on a plug-in cord, it came to me to use them on the mantel as I wouldn't be using them on our main tree as it is too big. Given that they're delicate, I wanted to keep them from moving around or storing them as they're too beautiful not to be displayed all season long. They are the perfect length, too & almost the right height for the space. To raise them, guess what I brought back? The books! I added a few books underneath each village to bring them up to the level of the garland & to cover the space. The view was perfect! More so, once I turned the switch, it was magical.
The small wall space would have to be grand, too; everything needed to tie together. Christmas prints were in order; different size prints in vintage ornate frames were what I was going for & I achieved that by ordering digital images & having them printed for me. I framed them myself by adding cardboard backing. Since I don't use glass on my framing to secure the print to the cardboard, I use Velcro tabs. I pace them on the corners. It's an easy way to frame. Also, I don't use glass to frame; it prevents glare. It also shows the prints to represent more of a painting at times. I opted for four prints & a tapestry. Given the variety of sizes & frames, I wanted them to look well together, so I placed them closely together where they overlap. I knew my collection of vintage frames would come in handy. I'm so happy that I didn't list them on Facebook Marketplace. Tip: Keep the vintage frames always.
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