Gold & Silver Christmas Mantel

We are almost finished with the Christmas decorating around our house.  The girls LOVE having the tree up with lights and decorations.  My almost 3 year old came downstairs on Sunday morning to snuggle with me on the couch and said, "Oh, I LOVE you so much, Christmas tree!"  She can be quite expressive.

I finished putting together my mantel this morning and I'm happy with it.

Last week I saw a post on Kate's blog about a table she had refinished.  The table truly is lovely, but what caught my eye was the vignette on top.  She had beautifully mixed gold and silver decor and it was stunning.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I copied her a wee bit and like what we have now.

My 'tree' is a small tree that we cut down from our garden area.  Bradley cut it off for me; I spray painted it, and then he nailed it to a small piece of wood so that it would stand up straight in the container.

I adorned it with some gold and silver balls {the gold ones were purchased at JoAnn's last week, 60% off; silver ones were from last year}.  I bought those glittery trees at the end of the year clearance last year, I think for 90% off, and had forgotten about them until a few weeks ago.

The JOY blocks were a quick project this morning from some wooden blocks I found marked down at Lowe's.  A little bit of paint, some hot glue to make the letters, and some glitter to cover the glue made for an easy little bit of art.

I picked up a few floral picks at JoAnn's last week, also 60% off, and the glass globe is filled with ornaments we've had.  The gold ones were from Pier One, six years ago, and the silver ones are Dollar store finds from last year.

I'm not into changing out the picture over my mantel for the seasons, so it stays there year round.  The colors actually blend quite well this time around.

My stockings are not yet hung with care; they are still halfway finished, as they have been since last year.  It's on the list to do, though, so you'll be seeing an updated mantel picture whenever they get finished.

Linking this up to Kevin and Layla's mantel party today.  Head on over there and check out all the gorgeous mantels!

Oh, and my little helper who wanted to get in on her own photo-op insisted that I put a picture of her in this post.

More Christmas projects to come!