How to decorate your Mantle for Winter
Well, the Christmas decorations are down…all 10 trees, whew that was a job! Thanks to Doug, my boys and my son’s girlfriend, it went pretty well. I still have one blue ornament hanging in my bathroom that got missed, I chuckle to myself everytime I go in there.
The only decorations that I really didn’t want to take down was the Christmas Mantle, I loved it this year. But, I also wanted to put up a Winter Mantle with a few favorite snowmen.
I started by making the Snowflake Garland. I wanted it to look kind of like snow, so I found some tulle that I had in my stash and went to work.
- I first added a piece of wool fabric. Then I used Tulle {it’s like netting and you can find it in the floral department usually at Walmart, Hobby Lobby or Michael’s} and Snowflakes. I bought the snowflakes after Christmas at Target, but the Dollar Tree had some as well.
- I measured the tulle to match the length of the fabric, then using regular thread I just gathered and tied it. Then using straight pins, I pinned it to the fabric.
- Then I attached the Snowflakes with clear thread
- I just pinned them to the fabric, the pins will be covered
And then I moved onto the Mantle…
- I added some small boxes and some dishes for different heights, then I draped some more fabric and kind of bunched it up. Then I made piles of snow {Epsom Salt}
- Next came the white lights, I tucked them under and behind the fabric
- Some Vintage Black Men’s Skates on one end
- And a couple tall Snowmen on the other end
- Medium sized Snowmen are added to the middle
- A couple small Snowmen and snowball shaped candles are nestled in the snow, along with some pine cones and little white antique mittens from the Thrift Shop years ago.
I’m happy with the way the Mantle turned out, but I have to confess, I ended up decorating it twice before I got the look I wanted. Here is my first attempt…
I liked it, but I wanted to add some more interest with the different levels. So…which one is your favorite?
Head on over to see all the Mantles I decorated last year.
I’m linking to…Saturday Night Special,Weekend Wrapup Party,Show and Tell Friday, Somewhat Simple, Transformation Thursday
Your mantle is beautiful but directions are slightly unclear. You said you just tied thread and just bunched up the fabric…could you please give more I depth detail how you “just did the tulle and fabric”. I’m really not good with “just do it directions”, but have no doubt I could do this. Thank you so much, Tiffany
Hi Tiffany, sorry if I was unclear with the directions. Sometimes it’s hard to understand directions in writing until you actually have the project in your hand to be able to see it.
After you measure the amount of tulle that you need, decide where you want to gather it, then using an accordion style method, gather the tulle and wrap the thread around it to secure it and tie the thread off with a knot.
Then repeat every 6 inches or so with the gathering and tieing. It doesn’t have to be exactly 6 inches, if you want the tulle to be more gathered then do it every 3 inches, it’s up to you.
After you have gathered and tied the whole length of the tulle, then attach it to your fabric or mantel.
Hope that helps!
~Liz
oooh fun idea to keep the snowmen out! I LOVE snowmen!
Your snowmen are so cute! I used a pair of skates on my winter mantel, too. They’re the double runners that my boys are too big for now.
I love the double runner skates. How fun!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
Love your mantel. I am always challenged with decorating MY mantel because it is VERY wide and not very deep.
Oh, I love your mantle. The little snowmen are adorable. Love them. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful!!! The wool just adds that extra. You are very creative. ~~Sherry~~
Great mantle! I love how you added the different heights by using boxes. Using a winter theme is a good way to keep just a little sparkle around after all the Christmas stuff is put away.
Your mantle is so beautiful. I love all of the textures and your snowflake garland is a lovely addition.
I love the second one–lots of depth, texture & interest!! Thanks for the inspiration/ideas!!
Thanks for all your beautiful suggestions on mantles! I have one and have never been a ‘decorator’, but you have inspired me!! Thank you for sharing your talents! <3
Your mantle is very cute and happy. I did mine in blues and whites(sparkly snowflakes, candles). I didn’t think I had any artistic ability, but I was very pleased with the outcome.It definitely reminded me of winter.
Love the mantle. The finished product is my favorite for sure. I love all the different textures!
Love your mantel and all your cute snowmen. I’m a little behind this year already. I was in bed for 6 days and I’m just now getting my strength back. Apparently I get pneumonia easily now. Blah! I’m ready to get a new mantel up. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks Leanne! Sorry you were sick, I thought maybe that was the case when I didn’t hear from you 🙂
We will talk soon.
~Liz
You always seem to capture the season in all your mantles!