Red and Black Christmas Mantel

Leanne Jacobs
by Leanne Jacobs
While red and black aren't traditional Christmas colors I think this mantel captures the Wonder of Christmas perfectly. There's lots of shiny, glittery, and cozy things to catch your attention.
I usually choose my Christmas colors a year ahead of time. I can shop the after Christmas sales and get a good deal of stuff for a fraction of the cost. I also put all the decorations I will be using the next year in totes and label them with that year, it saves time going through all the totes (most of the time). I like to break down the mantel so you can see every detail, so here we go!
Whenever I see wood grain wrapping paper I can’t pass it up. The papers were perfect for these tall trees. They’re simple but have just the right amount of detail. You can get the full tutorial at Cone Shaped Christmas Trees. They come together really fast so you can make a whole forest if you’d like. I sat them on different sizes of candle sticks to vary the heights.
The sign is from Hobby Lobby. I love the texture look and also that the letters are glittered. Plus it really is the most wonderful time of the year and every time I look at the sign I start singing the song.
These little houses were the wrong color for the mantel so I simply painted them. I paint a lot of my decorations to change them to fit my color scheme at the time. The windows were a little boring so I glittered them. It’s simple to glitter any surface: paint mod podge or glue on the area then sprinkle glitter over the wet glue. Tap off the excess and place it back in the container. No more boring houses! Use cake stands, candle sticks, or books to add height to your items.
I bought this raw reindeer head at Michael’s a few months ago and forgot I had it. I’m so glad I found it because it was perfect for the mantel. I painted the whole thing silver, then glittered the antlers red and the head silver. I hot glued a red felt ball on as a nose.
I strung red, black, and white felt balls on red bakers twine to make a simple garland. I have a few balls of each color left over so I have enough to make another small garland for my living room. You will need a large needle and jewelry pliers to pull the needle through the balls. It’s pretty tough, but worth the effort because look how awesome it turned out.
I don't usually decorate around the fireplace too much but since it isn't working right now, I thought, why not? The basket holds blankets we use while we're watching TV so I threw the black and white one on top since it fit in perfectly with the color scheme. I added some glittery and shiny deer and of course, a few wrapped presents. I love the wreath where the fire should be. At least it gives us something to look at since it isn't keeping us warm.


I hope I was able to share some fun ideas with you and you were able to get a little inspiration from my mantel.
Leanne Jacobs
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Lisa House Lisa House on Dec 17, 2015
    Where do you find the wood grain wrapping paper? Beautiful decor!
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  • Marilyn Marilyn on Dec 20, 2015
    I love everything you have. As I look at it Though I would like to see the reindeer in the circle and the wreath trade places. What do you think? Just an idea.
    • Leanne Jacobs Leanne Jacobs on Dec 31, 2015
      @Marilyn I didn't think of that. I think it would look beautiful there.
  • Brendaplank Brendaplank on Aug 08, 2016
    Beautiful.. Thank you so much for giving the details for each section. I have zero artistic abilities, I'm not kidding. I actually think I can pull something like this off, but I'm sure it won't be equal to your's.. Thanks again, and in case I can't find you again, Merry Christmas!
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