My Winter Mantel

When you decorate for Christmas in aqua, white and silver, the transition to winter decorating is pretty easy (and not to mention, inexpensive).  All it took was a little editing of my 'Winter Wonderland' Christmas mantel to create a winter vignette.

The trick to creating a winter mantel is to pare down, and remove anything screams Christmas - like any dressy ribbons, Christmas bulbs, trees, and reindeer.  Once those things are packed away, you can take a step back and decide what else can stay and what can go.

In my case, I also removed all of the silver and white glittery twigs and sticks that created the volume on my Christmas mantel.  Even though these are pretty holiday-neutral, en masse they seemed a little too fussy and  over-the-top than the look I was going for.  So in the box they went. Ultimately, I ended up stripping the whole thing down to just the string of glittery-adorned white lights, and my winter wreath.


Next, I started the process of building it back up again.  First, I knew I wanted to add the three chubby mason jars that I purchased at Dollarama for just $3 each. (Steal!) I filled them with faux snow (nothing else - just loved the simplicity of it) and placed them in the middle of the mantel.  The string of lights behind them provides a beautiful glow, especially when the room is dark!



Next, I added in a bit of whimsy with the "All you need..." print, as a little prelude to the season's highlight, Valentine's Day.  I had seen one similar to this somewhere on the web and LOVED it, and it was simple to recreate.  I already had the glass frame on hand.



Finally, for visual interest, I added in a bit more colour with the turquoise trees that were part of my Christmas stash, and texure with the white pine cones.  In addition, I pulled in the DIY snowflake garland that I had made for my master bedroom during the Christmas season.

 

I am loving the final result.  The room feels wintery and cozy.

 My DIY wintery jar lanterns which I made for Christmas also stayed, and they are now on the console table next to the mantel.  I added in a little mossy grapevine wreath (also from Christmas), and voila, my mission was complete!

 

So there you have it.

Before I sign off, here's a little before and after of how I transitioned my mantel from Christmas to Winter. 

Until next time, happy decorating!

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Linking to these lovely blogs:

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