I can't remember where I got these letters last year, but they're quite perfect, especially considering the name of this blog! They came with little wires so I just hooked them on one of the frames.
Can you see the pretty chippiness? I felt the mantel needed some sparkle {surprise} so I added these little plastic snowflakes. The red vintage garland was an additional purchase from the same booth. It came with a little pine spray and I changed that out for a more glamorous version from Michaels.
I usually have the mantel stacked with vintage Santas, but this year thought I would perch one of my little elves on the hook. I ended up moving him eventually. He was needed elsewhere.
So here's the full-on view of my mantel this year {oops the MERRY letters aren't in this picture... sorry}. I would love to do a neutral kraft-paper, burlap color scheme to keep on trend, but my family would not go for changing out their stockings or the stocking holders after all these years. I made the stockings when they were babies.
These stocking holders are cast iron. They do a great job of holding lots of goodies in the stockings on Christmas morning. I filled in with 4 pine sprays from Michaels, and some vintage gold and silver ornaments from my collection. The last touch was the pretty white glittered pinecones from Whimsy, a very fun shop you would love in Morris, IL.
The candle bases are also new this year, Smith and Hawken from Target. They were only $6.99 each, and were on sale at the time so they were about $4 each, which I thought was a great price. I couldn't find them online, but they have been in the store for a while. They match the hue of all my ivory Longaberger pottery perfectly. I left the little strings on that came with them... my only touch of trendy beige neutral here!
My decorating is finished... now to finish taking the pictures {fun} and processing of photos {not so fun} so I can share it with you {really fun}!
I'll be linking up to the parties on my side bar and...
