Goodness gracious, y'all, the Christmas decorating has been going on for weeks now! I was not-so-patiently waiting on a second set of champagne gold picks to deliver so I could finish the tree. Then there was the front porch to wrangle. After a lot of back and forth, I decided it just didn't look complete even though it's not a large space. So I ordered one of those fancy garland tension rods that practically requires an engineering degree to assemble and install. Next was the purchase of three garland swags, because I wanted a few different types of greenery to make it look realistic. And let's not forget the lights plus several different ribbon options to make layered bows. Now I recall why I've never bothered with a front porch garland in the past!
The last item to check off my Christmas decorating list was the fireplace mantel. Way back in October I ordered pretty velvet stockings in jewel tones with our names. But after leaving them hanging up for over a week, I decided it just wasn't the look I wanted. Maybe another year, or in a different space; and so they went into storage. Thankfully, I ran across these fuzzy, cream-colored stockings below, and they had the six I needed. So I snatched them up at 60% off, and then ordered custom name tags from an Etsy shop to hang on them.
All that left was the mantel top. I was already armed with cedar and Norfolk pine garlands. A couple weeks ago I picked up some interesting looking champagne colored balls that appear as if they're covered in ice. Gotta have different textures, right. I also bought some fern-shaped picks that were flocked to give a snowy look. But what about a larger focal piece for either side of the oryx mount above the mantel?
My sister-in-law sent me the pic above of some Christmas deer she saw in Michael's. Thinking it might be just the magic needed for that space, I ordered two of them since our local store was sold out. Unfortunately, one of the deer was poorly wrapped and arrived with both of its rear feet broken. I hauled it back to the store for a refund and placed another online order for a new one. The replacement deer arrived with a big dent in the side of the box, which had me worried. And sure enough, one of the antlers had snapped off in transit. Which was so disappointing because I wanted that mantel done yesterday. Since it was a clean break, I decided to whip out my Gorilla Glue and reattach the antler. After it cured overnight, I got the mantel completed with the help of my neighbor friend since she was already planning to come over to assist me with putting icicle lights on the boathouse. We ended up having to recruit her husband to come help us with the icicle lights, which was such a blessing since I couldn't have done it on my own.
