Positively Splendid {Crafts, Sewing, Recipes and Home Decor}

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Whimsical Christmas Mantel Decor

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Take a whimsical detour from traditional holiday decor this year and try a new, whimsical approach! My whimsical Christmas mantel is brimming with fun DIY details to inspire you. 

I love all of the whimsical details in this fun Christmas mantel as Positively Splendid!

 
 
I am so, so excited about how our Christmas mantel turned out! Most of my Christmas decor is the traditional red, green and gold, but this year I wanted to change things up in our living room with something totally different. 
 
Y’all know I’m a girl who loves lots and lots of color, and this display is proof positive of that! My goal was to create something bright and fun that would absolutely delight my children and convey the childlike wonder of Christmas.
 
 I have been dreaming for years of having silhouettes hanging over our mantel for the holidays, and this year was the year to make that happen! I used my tutorial for creating silhouettes with Photoshop Elements to turn profile photos of each child into jpeg images, and I then printed each out as an 8×10 and matted and framed them in $5 frames from Walmart. Because I printed the photos with supplies I already had on hand, this artwork only set me back $20!
 
 
 
I love the way my Rolled Crepe Paper Rosette Tree accents everything so nicely and really draws in the eye. I found the candy cane and wrapped candy ornaments (in just the colors I needed!) at Target for $2 each. 
 
 
I hadn’t planned initially to display the Photo Christmas List Ornaments I made for each child on the mantel, but when everything started to come together, I knew they would be perfect placed above each child’s stocking. I love that they mimic the look of stocking holders, but that I’ll be able to switch them out each year! 
 
I purchased this lollipop ornament from Target for $2, and I accented everything with red ornaments I had in my stash of Christmas decor.
 
Here are all of our stockings all lined up in a nice little row! These were indeed a labor of love, but I am thrilled with the end result. (Head over to my Whimsical Christmas Stocking tutorial to see how I put these together.)
 
 
 
I tucked a little sprig of glittery greenery in each stocking for good measure. (I posted some stocking-hanging tips last week.)
 
I knew I wanted a garland in lime green and turquoise to go behind the stockings, and I had initially planned to make one with tissue paper pom poms until I had the idea to use feather boas purchased from Joann. I simply twisted the two together (purchased with 40% off coupons for $4 each) and hung them on the mantel, flanking either end with a red houndstooth bow.
 
 
 
 

Brightly colored ornaments placed in a large jar and a ribbon-wrapped pillar candle round out the display.

 

Even if your home doesn’t have a mantel, you can still create a similar display on a bookshelf, a hutch, a piano top, a console table, or just about any other flat surface. Your creativity is the only limit!
Wanting even more mantel inspiration? Be sure to check out my Red, Gold and Lime Christmas Mantel.

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Comments

  2. Blessed says

    I love your bright mantle! Those stockings are wonderful – our stockings were all hand-knitted by my grandmother who passed away less than a year after she finished my baby’s stocking so they are precious to me and we won’t be replacing them but I might have to make some like yours to decorate with sometime when we have more spaces to decorate!

  6. Jeni says

    So great! I have a bunch of small glass ball ornaments that I haven’t put up for years (from our pre-kid days). I am going to find a great glass jar and put them out today! Thanks for the inspiration!

  12. Maria says

    This is adorable! I love the whimsical look, it kind of reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for some reason! Really cute!

  20. Ashley | Domestic Fashionista says

    Soooo pretty! I love bright whimsical Christmas decor and you knocked this one out of the parks! And that little rose tree is so sweet…I wouldn’t necesarilly think Christmas but with that little bow it ties in so well! Very inspirational! Visiting via Beth’s party!

  24. thehandcraftedcottage says

    I ABSOLUTELY am in love with this!!!! I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to try re-create my own version in purples and golds! I downloaded a trial version of PS (I have never ever used it before) and I can tell you, your tutorial was excellent because I was actually able to do it! The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to get a circle shape around the silhouette and then the square outer part! I did manage to do something nice, however, with one of the oval shape frames. I can’t wait to pull everything together!!! 🙂

    I hope you consider doing a mantel-scape for after the holiday season too!!! 🙂