Winter Mantel Decorations

I’m so excited to share my Winter Mantel with you! Like I mentioned the other day, I love cleaning up after Christmas and getting the house back under control, but I still want it to look warm and cozy for Winter.

This year’s Winter Mantel was inspired by the large chalkboard that I put out near the Christmas Tree and wrote the Night Before Christmas poem on. When Doug’s sister gave it to us, we had every intention of mounting it on the wall in the office for a command center. But I loved it with inspirational sayings written on it so much that I decided to put it above the Mantel and change the sayings every so often to fit the season or holiday.

After Doug put the Chalkboard on the Mantel, I then had to come up with what I wanted to add to it. I searched the internet for fun Winter quotes, but came up with only serious ones. So then I took a look at one of my favorite artists, Susan Branch, for inspiration. Then it hit me…Winter Love! What are some things we love about Winter? Hot Cocoa…Snowflakes…Cozy Fire…Fuzzy Slippers…A Warm Blanket…YES! We love them all!

I used just a regular box of Crayola chalk, in white and colored, and used a little tip that Gina gave me to make the chalk look like a chalk pen {which by the way, we saw one at Michael’s and it was $12}. Make sure the Chalkboard is damp and the chalk is damp. I wrapped the chalk in a wet paper towel and let it set for a few minutes, then with a very damp, but not dripping wet, dish towel, I wet down the board, a section at a time. I do also need to tell you that this Chalkboard, isn’t actually a Chalkboard, it’s a VERY old {probably 30+ years} piece of slate, which is why you can see some imperfections on the board. Which I think adds character and makes it even better.

After my first attempt at drawing a mug of Hot Cocoa, I quickly decided that my artist skills are very lacking, so I called in my oldest son, who is an amazing artist, to save the day. I think he did a wonderful job! Thanks, Andrew!

After the Chalkboard was done, then it was time to start pulling in all the other decorations.

1. The Twig Trees from the Christmas Mantel stayed up on either end
2. Then a long piece of wool fabric went down and I kind of bunched it up to look like a warm blanket
3. A large snowman, some vintage black skates and the antique shovel that I had on the front porch were added
4. I used my small cupcake plate and added some of the snowball ornaments from the Winter Wonderland Tree, and another favorite Snowman
5. I couldn’t help but add some of my favorite Aqua Mason Jars, one is filled all the way with Epsom Salt, the other almost full and I added a battery operated tea light
6. Then to finish up the Winter Mantel, I added another Aqua Jar filled with mini marshmallows, some pinecones and a couple snowflakes

And because I couldn’t help myself…a little more eye candy for you!

Have you decorated for Winter yet?

Linking to…Weekend Wrap-up Party, Saturday Night Special, Saturday Sevens, Sundae Scoop, Made By You Monday, Show Me How