A Wintery Woodland Mantle

This year I decided to decorate my mantle with a woodland/tree theme. I figured I could easily find different types of trees to make it look rich and diverse. I started with two pre-lit white trees that I already owned and added a garland with gold ribbon and lights that already had as well. Target helped me take care of the rest. They ran a sale on the Saturday after black Friday where you could get $50 off of $100 spent in their Christmas department so I made sure to pick that day for my purchases. I selected two small bottle brush style trees for $3 each, a pair of mini bottle brush trees (they were actually ornaments and sold in a pair for $3), two slightly green trees with a burlap wrapped base and pinecones for $3 each and two larger threes with wooden bases, pinecones and faux ice/snow for $18 each. I also found two glittery deer ornaments that I felt would add nicely.

 Then I began arranging them on my mantle until I liked what I had. I ended up having a dead space in the middle and dug out a very old mini artificial tree and added lights and some gold pinecones. To finish, I added our star stocking hangers and the new stockings I purchased to which I added gold initials to each to denote the owner. Finally, I hung a banner that was meant to be a craft project from Target. I liked the letters because they were a two tone metallic and I felt it would go really well but, I am super disappointed with them. The string included with the kit was horrible so I used twine instead and the letters aren't a very sturdy material so they may not make it to next year.

The basic idea when shopping for your mantle is to make sure that you get at least 4 different types of trees in varying sizes and get at least two of each different tree. Keep it simple and don't go for trees that are decorated and instead opt for simple, life-like looking trees. You also don't want to overcrowd the mantle and want to group the items in a natural way with some space between them but not perfectly spaced. You really just have to play with it until you like what you have. I rearranged mine a couple times and for a bit wondered if I hadn't made a mistake with my "genius idea" but I finally got an arrangement I love.

I think my favorite thing about my new mantle is that I can leave it up after christmas if I want. I'll just remove the stockings. It's not overtly Christmassy but still gives a warm and holiday feel. I just love it and I hope you love it too!