Even before I blogged, I loved decorating our mantel. Of course, back that it was much smaller and looked very different, but I still remember really feeling like I was creating a home when I decorated our mantel. When I began blogging, it seemed to be an area of decorating that I was really drawn to and I have loved changing it seasonally the past six years. Not to make the other seasons feel bad, but my favorite is always our Christmas mantel.
We have been in development of our galvanized village for what seems like years and to finally share it here with you on our mantel makes me giddy. Each piece is new, but made to look vintage and each piece is a little bit unique. We are most proud that they are completely sourced and made in the USA.
I have grown to just love our chalkboard on our mantel to I decided to make a snowy scene and add "Let it Snow" on it. We made the chalkboard and you can find the details here. The font is Zapfino and printed it large, and angled each word to get a bit of an arch to the words. At first, I thought I was going to be all fancy and do it free hand. After a long time working on it, I decided I hated it and I ended up printing it, rubbing chalk on the back and then tracing it and filling it with a chalk pen. Much better.
Then I hung our classic snowflake ornaments on long ribbons and taped them to the back to the chalkboard.
The only step left to do after that was fill in with greenery. I started with a base of a variety of pieces of fake greenery and then added in fresh eucalyptus and cedar. If they start to dry out, I have a small stash of fresh that I am keeping outside to freshen it up with.
I always start my decorating on our mantel and it sets the direction and tone for the rest of my room. I carried the snow theme onto the tree and then started bringing in more white elements into the rest of the room. I tried to find a balance of really feeling like it was decorated for Christmas and not overwhelming the room. Thank you so much for giving me a place to share the decorating in our home. In the big picture decorating is really not "important", but in the day to day it really matters to me to create a home where we celebrate and feel comfortable. And if some of the ideas we share spark an idea for you, than I am even happier. Wishing you a beautiful day and thanks so much for reading. To shop our full holiday collection, including our village and snowflake ornaments, please click here or the image below.
