Christmas Mantle 2010

This year for the mantle, I used leftover branches from my DIY Flocked Christmas Tree as the base of the greenery.  Then, added fresh elements for scent and texture.

 I layered berries and bayleaves and shopped the front yard for evergreen clippings.

(Sorry, Honey about the incident involving the hedge clippers and your new LED lights).

To mix things up a bit, I opted for potted Amaryllis instead of the Paperwhites that I've used in the past.

I'm linking this post to the 

The Lettered Cottage Holiday Mantle 2010 Party.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has created.

Christmas Blessings to you and yours.

Tutorial: Flocking With Paint & Glitter

This year, I was on a quest to find a better method for flocking my artificial tree.  I wanted durability, a thick texture and lots of sparkle. 

All I could find on the internet were recipes from the 60's with glue and Ivory Soap Flakes.   Sounded way too messy.  

So, I came up with my own solution.  For this project I used a thrift store tree, a can of white paint and glitter.

I took the tree apart and applied a thick layer of paint on the top of  just the tips of the branches (where snow would naturally fall). 

 While the paint was wet,  I sprinkled it with glitter.  

I reassembled the tree as I went along.  It took about 24 hours to dry and it made a huge mess, I would recommend doing this outside.

Durability, thick texture and lots of sparkle.

Mission accomplished.  

Linking up to:
Sassy Sites
Funky Junk Interiors
Remodelaholic
Sassy Sites
The Shabby Nest   
A little lovely
The Inspired Room