Making of A Christmas Mantel
Story by: Tony Hinshaw & Kelly Caldwell
Decorating for Christmas for a lot of us is about nostalgia and tradition. I have my favorite from childhood and then I have my own ornaments and trinkets I have picked up on my travels over the years.
Now, in my house, I don't have a mantel, so I took a road trip to Senioa and borrowed the manel at my friends Jim Preece and Tony Hinshaw's house. I also borrowed Tony's decorating skills to accomplish three different looks I absolutely adore.
We went with Southern Charm, Grandma's House and High Society Winter Wonderland. These mantel displays are to be used to inspire you to do a little something different this year when it comes to decorating your fireplace. (Change it up a little and Santa will notice.)
Southern Charm
We took inspiration from nature with this one. We brought in magnolias and cotton, but the focal point was a special treasure Jim has lugged around for many, many years.
"The picture is from the Savannah Symphony Orchestra. Back in the 1970's, they did a fundraiser where they sold wrapping paper. This was the sheet music for 'The Nutcracker' that the orchestra would perform.
"It literally cost me like $2," he said. "Granted I spent a small fortune getting it framed, but we love how it turned out."
To finish the look we used pillar candles for height, a yarn spindle, tarnished silver ball ornaments and garland consisting of pine cones and holly berries.
Grandma's House
Really this reminds me of my childhood because my great grandmother Burson actually had a ceramic light up Christmas Tree It makes me smile when I see reproductions in the stores now.
This embraces the more the merrier attitude with vintage figurines and decorations making their way to the center stage.
We elevated the look of our wreath simply by placing a Santa Claus wall hanging in the center. We used shatterproof red Christmas balls to bring attention to the garland cascading down the mantel. We also used multicolored lighted because every grandmother should, right?
We have the main players of a children's Christmas represented including Frosty, Rudolph and of the main man himself!
High Society Winter Wonderland
How beautiful is this? I mean really. I think it may be my favorite but I am supposed to be unbiased.
Different greenery including eucalyptus, green berries, pine created the base of the mantel. White lights are used in this display and make the twinkle even more special with the flocked miniature tree with a gnome inspired Santa Claus. The floating bookshelves add a nice dimension of height and you can always use Christmas books from your collection. The metal trees reflect the white lights nicely.
Father Christmas stands to the side with glittered snow trees.
