Hello my dear friends!  Can you believe it is the first of December?  Oh my word!

Today I am excited to be sharing our family room all deck out for Christmas!

First, I want to show you how I decorated my fireplace mantel.  This is the one part of the room that I like to change every Christmas.  I might keep the same decorations throughout the room, but the mantel will change each year.

This year with the new fireplace makeover I was extremely excited, but I also was stumped on how I wanted to decorate it.  I finally came up with a plan.  I went through all of my decorations and found the pieces that I wanted to use.  For those who have been with me for awhile know that painting has to be involved somehow….you’re right.  I had some gold deer purchased at Michael’s years ago that I wanted to use, but not as they were.

I spray painted both of them white.  I then took some spray snow and gave them a good coating.  Let them dry for a good long day!

I centered my Santa picture on the wall above the mantel.  I purchased the picture from Kirkland’s several years ago.

I place 3 nails on the front part of my mantel (The nail holes are hidden and are not noticeable when I remove the garland).  One in the middle and one on each end.    I take a piece of the garland and wrap it around each nail to keep it secure to the mantel.

To get the garland full I decided to take my regular garland and add my branches from my old Christmas tree (I just hated to throw the smaller ones away…..GOOD thing as you can tell I use them a lot).  I also added a twig garland of berries and little snow covered berries to give it some color.

I took several branches and placed them along the front.  How I did that… I took the ends (the wire part that you would attach to the pole) and I bent the hook a little more and wrapped it around the garland.

I added lights to the garland and branches.

Doesn’t that make a nice full garland?  Let me know what you think.

The white cord will be hid after I get done.  You know me and those darn cords!

Items I used to decorate the mantel were.

• a red and white wire Christmas print ribbon for a bow and 2 ribbon tails
• red plain wire ribbon to use for weaving
• 7 white magnolia clips
• 2 red poinsettias
• 6 white pearl picks
• 1 silver pick and pulled it apart to make several little ones.

For the top of the mantel.

• 2 extra old Christmas branches
• 4 evergreen with berry stem picks
• 2 glass flower vases
• 3 red glass votive candle holders
• 2 of my re-purposed gold deer.

Sorry….I got so busy designing that I forgot to take pictures of the process after I put the lights on.  You know…..I got excited and I am new to this blogging thing. ha!

This is how it turned out.

Garland: I added the white magnolias three to each side with the red poinsettia at each corner.  I made a bow with the red and white Christmas ribbon.  I weaved and twisted the red ribbon a long the garland.  The white pearl picks I stuck randomly in the garland.  The silver picks I placed mostly in the center around the bow and at the end around the red poinsettias.

On the mantel:  I placed two glass bud vases with a Christmas tree branch and a pine berry stem on each side of the Santa picture.  You can tell I didn’t do the vases the same.  I switched how I placed the greenery in them.  Just a little twist.  I used my three red votive candle holders (purchased several years ago from Kirkland’s) one on one side and two on the other side.  I placed the deer one on each side. I put a red scarf on each of the deer.  I also laid a pine berry stem next to each deer.

 

Now I want to share with you…..

How I flocked my tree

I love my tree, but after seeing so many photos this year of flocked Christmas trees, I wanted one.  I just couldn’t see me going out and buying a new tree, so I decided to make my tree look like it was flocked by using flocked picks and stems.

Here is my tree.

Ifigured I would need 2 stems per foot of my tree, I have a 7.5 tree so I rounded it up to 8 foot.  I would need at least 16 flocked good size stems to place in my tree.

• 9 needled flocked stems – at Michael’s (50% OFF)
• 7 smaller needled flocked stems – Roden’s Surplus Imports (50% off)
• 8 flocked evergreen picks – Wal-Mart

I bought different type of flocked stems, 9 good size stems and 15 smaller stems ( they would equal as 7 good size stems).

I just started adding the picks to the tree.

I purchased white picks that I added to the tree randomly.  I also added 3 tall flocked willow branches to the top.

I am so excited!  That is just what I wanted it to look like.   I totaled up the cost of the picks and for this look it cost me $61.97 (plus tax).  I think it was well worth that.

Now….here is the details of the tree and all of the decorations.

The color theme……..drum roll……Red and white.

I placed red and the red and white Christmas ribbon on the tree with some silver, white and red ornaments.

I took the red and the red and white ribbon and cut 12″ strips, put the two ribbons together, fish tailed the ends and tied the ribbon in the center with floral wire I then attached it to the tree randomly.

Here is my tree all decorated.  Would you think this was a flocked tree?  Let me know in the comments what you think!

I don’t know how your tree does while you decorate it, but after I decorate mine I think I sweep up enough droppings to make another tree.

I love the flock look of the tree against the color ornaments.  What do you think?

Let’s view the rest of the room.

What do you think about my fireplace all dressed up with my Christmas decorations?  If you are just now joining me you can go HERE to view my fireplace makeover.

My Santa and Mrs. Claus was purchased back in 1992.  I wished I aged like that.  I carefully pack them away each year.  My husband’s parents gave them to us for Christmas that year.  I love to sit them out each year, somewhere in my home.

She lost her glasses somewhere this year.  I am sure they are in a tub.  (I am hoping) ha!

I placed a little ornament in one of her hands and placed a ladder my father made me one year to make her look like she is decorating.  What do you think?  Leave me a comment.

I took our outside yard deer ornament and spray painted him white and painted back his eyes and nose with black paint.  Placed a DIY red scarf on him along with a bling pendant.  I took a pine garland and shaped into an oval and sat him on the hearth inside the garland.

He needed spray painted anyway, so this spring he will turn back brown.

On the coffee table, I purchased this round wooden tray.  I love this tray because it can be lifted up by the handles when I need to have my coffee table bare.  I placed some logs that I dusted with white spray paint.  Tied a Christmas ribbon around it and fish tailed the ends.  I took two different size snowflakes and stacked them one on top of the other and placed a LED lighted ornament on top.  I placed my DIY candle arrangement (I shared how I made that with my Facebook friends yesterday) on the other side of the snowflakes.

On my side tables:

On one of my tables I placed one of my mercury glass candlesticks with a Christmas bow and red candle and a Santa figurine.

The second one I placed a Santa framed picture on an easel.  In front of the picture I placed Santa in his bed.

On my three tier table I added a metal Santa.  Second shelf, a lighted glass block with a ribbon and to the bottom a silver Christmas bird and some glass ornaments in a wire basket.

I placed my Santa picture above the table.

Above my cabinet: I placed my wire basket tray, a Christmas floral and a Santa figurine next to a piece of pine and berry pick.

Story behind my Christmas floral.  This is very special to me and the reason is…My father-in-law gave this to me one Christmas.  He was battling cancer and one Christmas he purchased each of us a Christmas floral for no reason, never done anything like that before, just that one year.  I will keep this and the memories with me always!

On the back wall:

I had to move my recliner back into the corner due to wanting my Christmas tree in the corner by the fireplace.  I moved the floral arrangement and lanterns to the other side of the chest.

The floral arrangement I placed some Christmas berries to it.  Put a snowflake pillow in the wire basket and placed bows to each of my lanterns.

On my chest I placed a white Christmas deer and two Christmas trees.  In front of the one lamp I added a JOY sign.

In the corner I placed another framed Santa picture.  On the recliner I placed my faux fur blanket with a red pillow and a snowflake pillow.

The view of our family room coming in from the front foyer.

More views of our family room.

Here is my favorite photos of my tree and mantle at night all lite up.

Forgot to mention that the pillows were all purchased on Amazon.  So easy to store since they are pillow covers and can be folded and put in a drawer.  Actually the last one came in today.  Here is the couch with the new addition.

This will bring us to the end of my home’s interior decorations.  I hope you enjoy viewing our home all decorated for Christmas 2017.  I am enjoying the red, white and touch of silver this year.  Who knows what color next year will bring.

Thanks for joining me in decorating our home.  I truly enjoyed showing you tips and doing some DIY projects with you.  Can’t wait to continue the holidays with you.  Please come back and tell a friend about my blog.  Would love to share my tips with them too.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.  And jump over on Pinterest and see what all I pin.

Don’t forget to sign up to NEVER MISS A POST so you won’t miss one thing this holiday season from me!

Stay strong and stay blessed!

Terrie