My Christmas Mantle ~ 12 SuperMom Days of Christmas

The Christmas season isn't officially here until the tree is decorated and the stockings are hung.  Now I'm not saying by delaying either one of those you can stop Christmas from coming like some kinda SuperGrinch.  Just that nothing says Christmas like a sparkling tree and a festive mantle.

I would've shared my mantle earlier but I wanted to show you some of the projects first.  Now that I'm saying that out loud I'm wondering if I should have done it the other way around!  Oh well, too late, on with the show!

I went with my favorite traditional Christmas colors.  Red, green and white with accents of sparkly silvers.  This is my mantle on the Great Room side.  It's actually a double-sided fireplace which means two mantles to decorate.  Nice, but double the work too  =)

How 'bout we start and the top and work our way down with all the Christmasy details!  At the top is a wooden sign that I sprayed chalk paint on the backside of and hung a banner from.

I printed it free from The Girl Creative who makes amazing free printables.  I'm starting to become a free printable junkie because they are so fun to decorate with.

You can see more details on the sign I created, plus 25 Christ-Centered Free Printables for Christmas here.  Just print, frame or hang and enjoy (make great gifts too!).  The two little white birds remind me of a nativity scene I remember as a little girl.

Applying a Mercury Glass finish to these Mason Jars gave them the bit of sparkle I was after.  I found a small strand of battery powered lights with a built in timer at Walmart.  I put a little in each jar and it comes on for 6 hours each night to light up the top of the mantle.  Totally worth $5.  Another hint on the nativity with a cluster of lights at the top.  

In the center of the mantle hangs an easy and fun dollar store wreath I turned into a sparkly Icy Wreath and hung it from an old window frame.  I did the same treatment to a bowl of pine cones too.

Here you can see my Paper Whites growing inside some of my grandmothers Milk Glass.  Also the Mercury Mason Jar Lanterns that can be turned on at the touch of a button.

I used good old fashioned tree trimmings for all my greenery.  If I was wearing my Smartie SuperMom Cape I would've soaked all the trimmings in the bathtub overnight to help keep them fresh longer.  Instead I've been sporting my Sleepy SuperMom Slippers so I'm just spritzing them daily-ish.

Were you trying to count all the stockings earlier?  If you came up with 9 good job!  I gave all the kiddo's Custom Stockings on a Budget details yesterday but never showed ours.  A simple 'd' & 'm' replaces the number with a set of bells hanging from the bow.

On the flip side of this mantle sits the Dinning Room and Living Room turned Playroom where our Christmas Tree sits too.  This side is a little more for my kiddo's.

Yes.  Those are pictures of babies sitting at the top.  With bare butts.  All taken at six months old.  And totally my favorite pictures.  I'm missing two babies, my twins who just turned six months.  They'll be making their bare-butt debut soon!

 Still so in love with my Thanksgiving Tree turned Dreamy White Christmas Tree.  I paired it with this whimsical Redwood burl that I swear looks like a deer with horns, no?  I also painted a board red and then covered it with a couple coats of 'Chalk It.'  Have you seen this stuff?  It turns anything into a chalk board surface like a Festivus miracle!  I'd buy it by the gallon if I could...

On the end I switched out my normal blankets for these fun fleece blankets to hang on my Blanket Ladder.  Also hanging is another old window frame turned memo board turned Advent Calendar!

That's about it.  What did you think?  Do you have a favorite side?  Maybe you can settle an argument for me & SuperHubbie...should the twins have their OWN bare-butt picture or one together?  I'd love you to weigh in  =)