11/28/09

My Christmas Mantle!







I think I am still digesting my Thanksgiving Dinner and recovering from my Black Friday shopping trip.  I vow no more Black Fridays for this gal, just too stressful.  I will stay home and shop online and wait until the crowds die down a bit.   The Christmas Decorating has begun and I usually start outside and then onto the mantle.  I needed an inspirational pic and I found it with the December issue of Midwest Living!  Now my Mantle isn't a copy but it's an inspirational pic, to get me in the mood!   But first, I will share with you my Autumn mantle as kind of the before:  I've had it up since the first part of September and I was itching for a change!






Christmas Mantle 2009 @
Applestone Cottage




I wanted to use lot's of splashes of red, similar to the Midwest Living Cover.



I wrapped my pine cone wreath which was a gift from my daughter a couple of Christmas's ago in red velvet ribbon with the white trim.  The little boy angel was a recent find, only 4.95 marked down from $30.00.  It's heavy too and I love the old fashioned look!~


I took my lantern that I had purchased on clearance from Wally World and cleaned it up, added a white candle, some ribbon and I have a whole new look!  The lantern had been marked down to $8 and we used it all summer outside on our patio.




The clock was a Christmas gift from my brother Tim many years ago and I always think it deserve's a place on our mantle.  He built this beautiful clock and little Christmas mouse always finds a home above. 




Santa finds a spot in front our fireplace screen.  He was an after Christmas purchase last year and quite cheap.  Home Goods I believe.  I love our screen, I found it on E-Bay and I think it was about $50.00 which I thought was quite reasonable.  It's very heavy, made of cast iron. 




The Mercury Glass candle holder was a recent purchase from TJ Maxx.  I think it was about $6.00 and has a soft bronze glow to it.  I  used extra ribbon as a trim for the candle.


My wire cloche was set on a plate I had decoupaged in red and white check.   I filled it with one of my vintage ornaments (homemade), a santa and berries, green's and pinecones.


I used my pinecone wreath from my Autumn Mantle as trim around this basket.




A closer view of this little angel.



I found this little swag of mittens and stockings at last year's after Christmas sales.




Another View.




A Mosaic for my Mantle, oh yah!



And a little farewell from the cutest baby of all!  Ok, I know I'm prejudice but isn't my niece Chloe pictured with my niece Noel and nephew Ben about the cutest thing!  We all fought over her at Thanksgiving!  The poor baby, she was passed around more than the turkey and pumpkin pies!

I am joining the following blog parties:
Met. Monday @  Between Naps on the Porch
 Mosaic Monday @  Little Red House
Deck the Halls on Tuesday @Thoughts from over the Rainbow
How are you all coming with the Christmas decorating!  It's a job isn't it!  Now on to the tree!!  Cindy




41 comments:

  1. Cindy,
    I love your mantel,you are getting me in the decorating mood!

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  2. The red really pops against the stones, nice job.
    @cheapchichome.blogspot.com

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  3. The red is such as nice contrast against the stones, nice job.
    @cheapchichome.blogspot.com
    (Sorry if I left this comment twice - it didn't appear & I didn't see a moderation notice.)

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  4. Cindy,
    Your mantle is beautiful! I love it. So warm and cozy. Those little mittens and stockings are too cute.
    Great job!
    Traci
    Oh yeah, those kids are cuter than your mantle...I know you won't mind me saying that! :)

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  5. Nice job on the mantle transformation for Christmas!
    That chicken wire cloche is my favorite. You will have years of fun decorating that for every holiday!

    We are actually experiencing sprinkles as I type. We are sooo excited and hoping for full blown RAIN soon!
    Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Cindy!

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  6. Hi Cindy! I love your mantel...so festive! That square pinecone wreath is so unusual! Your wire cloche is so pretty, too. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Happy week...hugs...Debbie

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  7. Hi Cindy, Soon as I got here I was greeted by Dean Martin, Love him. My Mom always played his music. What fun! Thanks for the memories and for the Christmas spirit.~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

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  8. The one thing we gave up when we bought this house 6 years ago was a fireplace. It is our first house without one, and I miss that mantle at Christmas. Yours is so festive, and I love the stones. I'm working on putting a little Christmas around our house too. Hopefully pictures soon.

    Sue

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  9. Your mantle is so pretty! I love everything you've done! You've been quite the busy one, haven't you? Yes, I have to agree, that little darling is so precious.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  10. How pretty - You did good! I don't shop on BF anymore - have not in years.
    Hope you are having a great weekend.
    Glenda

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  11. Oh Cindy...
    Happy Holidays to you. I love the beautiful mantle. How festive it all looks. I love the red. It really pops. The mitten garland is so cute. I love the look of little mittens. It is always so refreshing. I have a little mitten tree. I will begin posting decorations soon.

    Thanks for sharing sweetie. Country hugs and love, Sherry

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  12. O, I love love love all the red on your pretty mantel. You did a fabulous job.
    It IS a chore, getting all the decos down from the attic, stringing it all over the entire house, sorting thru....and I love every single minute of it !! :O(
    xo bj

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  13. Hi Cindy, Your mantel looks so cozy and warm! I especially love that wire cloche! I want to try and get a few things done- still slow going here- good day, then a dizzy day. At this rate, I hope I can get ONE tree done! What cute kids you have in your nieces and nephews...
    hugs, Sue

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  14. Your mantle looks adorable. Love your creativity. I love your fireplace screen. I want one for my fireplace just for the look. I wonder if one would look weird covering a gas fireplace?

    Skip the pumpkin pie and pass the baby. How cute is that little one!

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  15. Cindy, your mantel looks beautiful! I love all of the splashes of red. That little boy angel is so precious, and I love your Santa sitting on the hearth! I need to get busy with the Christmas decor. My wonderful package of gifts arrived yesterday. They are even better in person than they were on your blog. I love everything. My father-in-law died yesterday, and the funeral is Tuesday, so I will have to wait awhile to post about my fabulous win. Thank you so much. laurie

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  16. I love your fireplace screen! It's a beauty. And all the red and white!
    Brenda

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  17. lovely lovely post...and the best of all is the final pic!!:) lovely!they look sooo happy :)
    Annalisa

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  18. wonderful post...Love the final pic, they look so happy!!!:)
    thanks for sharing this with us,
    Annalisa

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  19. Oh Cindy, this looks fabulous. I would give anything to have a "real" fireplace to decorate. I love your Santa...Thank you for stopping by to see the "new" valance. Love Midwest Living magazine..perfect for our area..
    hugs ~lynne~

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  20. Okay, where do I start? In addition to your decorations, I can't believe your brother made that amazing clock! I dare say that does deserve a special place on your mantle, Cindy. And the little Christmas mouse on top is as cute as can be.

    I like all the pops of red, and your daughter's wreath looks like one I made for my mother! So neat! I just like everything you did. And I can't believe you found that neat iron piece on eBay! Did it cost you a fortune to ship it??? I like all the pine cones on the mantle, the cute little boy angel, and the mercury glass candlestick and the candle you embellished. And Santa is so sweet holding court. Looks like you are ready for him to come visit! Whereas I have not done the first thing in terms of decorating. Oh well! LOL!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  21. It looks wonderful, Cindy! thanks so much for sharing at MM. :)

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  22. That baby is a baby doll!! I am lovin your meeeeces to pieces and I love the Santa in front of the fireplace.

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  23. I relaxed with family instead of Black Friday shopping this year - A first in many years.

    I survived Thanksgiving, but no Christmas decorations up yet.

    Visit me!
    http://www.jeanneselep.blogspot.com

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  24. Hi Cindy, I love all the pops of color. You did a great job. Your mice remind me of the Santa Mouse book I love so much.

    Of course the first thing that got me on the cover was the lab puppies! I want to just get right down on the floor and play right in the middle of them!
    Hugs,
    Dawn

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  25. I love your mantel, Cindy. Looks very nice and warm. Gorgeous fireplace screen. I can imagine how heavy it is if it is wrought iron, which I love. I made a lot of progress in decorating for Christmas but somehow there are still a lot of untouched boxes in the garage.

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  26. Wow...everything looks so festive! I can't wait to start mine..but I don't have a very large mantel. Yours is wonderful. All that space. I loved the little mouse you sat on top of the clock...
    We were just talking about making pine cone wreaths again...we did it years ago. I had forgotten how pretty and woodsy they are.
    I have no clue what I am doing with my mantel..and besides ...my lights for the mantel have not arrived yet... lol
    It's beautiful, Cindy! Everything is just beautiful!!
    Mona

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  27. Your mantle is beautiful. I love all teh decorations. They are so pretty. Wonderful mosaic.

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  28. I love your mantel Cindy - I adore that stone and you make it look so good. I had the shopping blues on Friday because I had the day off (rare) and didn't go shopping - so I went on Saturday - it was much better and I only went to the thrift stores - hah ! That darn dish fairy made me buy two more sets of dishes - drats - I don't need any dishes !!!!! That little niece of yours looks like a butterball, no wonder she was passed around, LOL !
    Hugs ~ Kammy

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  29. Mornin' Girlfriend...

    Just read your sweet note...so happy to hear from you, my friend! Ohhh no...sounds like you had quite the day shopping on Friday! You know, I have never shopped on Black Friday. We always end up doing our Thanksgiving on Friday because of waiting on the kids. I did do a little shopping yesterday when we took the kids back to their mom's. Ohhh...it was too busy! You know, the older I get...the less I enjoy shopping in that kind of an atmosphere! I'm with you...thank the Lord for online shopping! Hehe!

    Well Darlin'...let's talk about this gorgeous Christmas mantel of yours! Girl, you did such a fabulous job with it...and to tell you the truth...I love your inspiration photo but your mantel is sooo much prettier! First of all...I love, love, LOVE the pretty red berries and pinecones! I think it's still my favorite decor for Christmas!!! All that red just looks gorgeous against the beautiful stone on your fireplace!!! Love your new pretties...that sweet little angel boy...he's just precious and I love that new bronze mercury glass candleholder!!! One of my favorite things that you used is the wire cloche filled with your handmade ornaments...it's sooo pretty! And I love how you did the red and white check on the plate!!!

    Girl, I love, love, LOVE how you draped the autumn pinecone garland around the top of your basket...that turned out gorgeous!!! I'm going to have to see if I can do something like that...I love how that looks!!! Ohhh my...you will not believe this but I have looked at this exact same cast iron fireplace screen for my fireplace! They have them at an online shop called Victorian Fireplace Co. I think they wanted $125 for them there...you got a terrific deal on this one! I absolutely adore it...it looks so pretty on your fireplace! Hmmm...now I'm wondering if there are anymore of these on ebay?

    Well my friend, I hope that you have a wonderful day! Can't wait to see more of your fabulous Christmas decor! I need to get busy with mine! Now that Thanksgiving is behind me...I better get a move on! Hehe!

    Love ya, Sweetie!
    Chari

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  30. Wonderful!..and that Chloe is precious!

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  31. Cindy-Tuscola is located about 25 miles south of Champaign-Urbana, on I-57. It is cute and the candy is delish! Thanks for visiting!

    Sue

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  32. Cindy~~

    You are right...I haven't been around, I am getting ready for Galena! lol! Just kidding! Seriously, my blog roll is so long, I keep following new blogs and it takes so long to visit. That is probably why I am not doing well with my Christmas decorating!!

    I love your fireplace. It is SO similar to ours at the lake. And I love how you have decorated it for the season. It's nice that you embellish things with ribbon...it really adds to already pretty decorations. I love the mantle clock your brother made. I would treasure that too! And the mice on top are perfect. I love the cloche and lantern a lot and Santa Claus on the hearth.

    You are great with the after Christmas sales. I avoid crowds like the plague!! And you went out on Black Friday? So did Alan!! He LOVES to shop!!

    Your nieces and nephews are dolls!! I can see why everyone wanted to eat Chloe up...she's a doll.

    I will be emailing you soon!

    xoxo
    Janie

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  33. Your mantle looks so pretty and festive! the picture of the kids is adorable. Oh, that baby is a doll!!!

    Debbie

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  34. Your mantle looks so lovely. I am going to start decorating this week. Can't wait.

    Willow

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  35. Hi Cindy!

    Your decorations are gorgeous - I especially love the clock your brother made & the little mouse on top. :) And the picture of the kiddos - priceless!!!

    I haven't started decorating yet!!! Soon, I hope!

    Have a beautiful day,
    Zuzu

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  36. Hi there!
    Wow. Everything looks so nice and festive!
    Reminder - I have you signed up for Dec. Doors of Welcome! Yes?
    Hugs! Karen

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  37. Cindy, your mantel and all your Christmas decor look wonderful. I think the clock your brother made is perfect for the mantel. How special to have a brother who would make a clock for you! Your nieces and nephews look darling. We had a baby to pass around this holiday as well. Babies are the best. Great photo of your kids, too!

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  38. Cindy, your mantel is lovely. The beautiful stones around it really add to the warmth. The stockings are so cute, too...and the clock - love it! Linda

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  39. I LOVE THE MANTEL...AND THAT CUTE LITTLE ANGEL BOY IS THE SWEETEST THING EVER! YOU DID A GREAT JOB OF IT..I'VE YET DO GET IT ALL DONE, I'M SO TIRED FROM 6 WONDERFUL DAYS WITH MY KIDS HERE! THOSE LITTLE ONES THERE AT THE BOTTOM ARE SO CUTE, THE BABY IS SO SWEET! Come say hi :D

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  40. Lovely fireplace and cute baby . I'm also starting my xmas deco. catherine

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Welcome,
I would love to hear from you. Come back and visit anytime. Warmest Wishes, Cindy