Easy Thrifty Winter Mantle Shop My Stash

Are you affected by the January blues? It can happen so easily.  Coming off of the Christmas and New Years hype,  struggling with the cold, snow and the shorter days can all add up to the blues.  I’m telling you folks, cabin fever is real.  Over the years, I have come up with some simple strategies to beat it. My favorite being, getting involved in a creative project.  My most recent project turned out to be so simple but yet cheers me every time I look at it.  I created an Easy Thrifty Winter Mantle.  Everything used are pieces I already have.  All I had to do was shop my stash, do a little repurposing and relocation of some items and the winter mantle was created.

Let me back up a minute.  I usually do not go over board at the holidays decorating, however, I try to create a festive focal point in my living room upon my mantle. I do not believe I shared any of my home decor during this holiday season.  I guess I was just too busy with all the hustle and bustle of the season. Here, in my Christmas mantle, I mixed together some thrifty items I already owned along with a pair of reindeer I purchased new.  Together, they created a simple Christmas mantle.

When it came time to remove the holiday decor, the house seemed quite plain.  The twinkling lights and the shimmering garland were gone.  That change along with the dole drums of January can make one feel a little blue.  It was definitely time for a project to mix things up.  Again, I decided to start with the focal point in my living room, the mantle.  I decided to remove the red shutter and green boxwood wreath to get away from the traditional  Christmas colors and go with a more wintery pallet.  Shopping my stash, I came across an old window pane in the perfect chippy white color.  All it need was a quick sanding and it was ready for … something.  I just was not sure what.

Shopping my stash some more, I came across a cherry blossom wreath I picked up a while ago.  Even though they are blossoms and really belong in spring, I decided it was just the neutral piece I was looking for- a winter white.  I left the deer and the birchwood candles because they too were neutral.  Stepping back and taking one last final look I was not pleased.  I put the red candle back just for a pop of color and called it a day.  An Easy Thrifty Winter Mantle created from shopping my stash.

The big decision that remains is, How long will it stay this way before I get tired of it?  You know me, I love to change things up.. often!  xx00