I am thrilled to once again be joining Sondra Lyn’s Home for the Holidays Blog Hop! (You can find my project for last year’s Hop right here). There will be all sorts of festive decorating ideas and delicious holiday recipes coming your way all week long. We are kicking things off with holiday mantels, so be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post and visit the other bloggers sharing their decorations today. But first, let me give you a look at my simple rustic Christmas mantel decor.
If this is your first time here, welcome to Two Purple Couches! I love all things decorating, DIY and crafting, especially for the holiday season! My decorating style is a mix of what I love most—a little rustic, a little vintage, a little modern, with plenty of color, pattern and personality!
Truth be told, for as excited as I’ve been for the holiday season to start, I hadn’t given a lick of thought to how I wanted to decorate this year! I may have panicked a bit last week when I realized that our Home for the Holidays Hop started today. Normally, I would browse magazines, catalogues and Pinterest for decorating ideas, but instead I pulled out all of my Christmas bins to see what I could pull together. I have acquired so many decorations over the years, and I was determined to use only decorations I had on hand!
I really loved how my cozy-rustic-woodlands Christmas mantel came together last year (see it here), and I found myself gravitating toward similar elements this year. Instead of forcing myself in another direction, I went with it! Hey, when inspiration strikes, you’ve got listen, right? I opted for a “less is more” approach to my Christmas mantel decor this year and incorporated some of my favorite holiday pieces…
I adore those evergreen trees I picked up at Michaels last year, and of course I had to include the grapevine stag head I brought home from last year’s Country Living Fair! If loving this piece of decor is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
The hurricane vases are left over from the centerpieces I made for our wedding reception 9 years ago, a.k.a. before Pinterest existed. Both the red and white beaded garlands came from At Home; the hubs and I cut out the paper snowflakes several years ago, but we continue to use these for holidays and I love them!
Moving down to the hearth, I had to bring in my vintage beer crate, another favorite piece. Paired with a rustic Santa, simple brown paper packages, a miniature tree and a chalkboard holiday sign, this little vignette is just darling!
On the other side of the hearth, Santa’s sleigh is packed and ready for Christmas Eve deliveries!
Love this? Don’t forget to pin it for later!
Home for the Holidays Blog Hop
Don’t miss all of the beautiful holiday decorating ideas, crafts, recipes and more being shared all week long!
It is with much excitement that I join this year’s Home for the Holidays blog tour sponsored by Sondra Lyn at Home! This is the 3rd year for her HFTH tour, and we promise to bring some of the most awesome decor, craft and recipe ideas you’ll find anywhere. It has gotten bigger and better each year and I think you’re going to love what you see! So stay tuned – it’s 30 blogs over the week, with a different topic each day. Be sure you come back here every day to get the links for that day’s featured blogs! Here’s a run-down of the topics and featured blogs:
Monday – Holiday Mantels
Country Design Style | Duke Manor Farm | Domestically Speaking
Organize and Decorate Everything | Sondra Lyn at Home | Two Purple Couches
Tuesday – Holiday Recipes
An Alli Event | Not Just Paper and Paint | Nourish and Nestle
StoneGable | Sweet Pea | What Meegan Makes
Wednesday – Holiday Crafts
An Extraordinary Day | Lovely Etc | Lilacs and Longhorns
Lydi Out Loud | Salvage Sister and Mister | Weekend Craft
Thursday – Holiday Decor
Atta Girl Says | Chatfield Court | Create & Babble
Designers Sweet Spot | The Heathered Nest | Worthing Court
Friday – Holiday Tablescapes
Celebrating Everyday Life |Cottage at the Crossroads | Cottage in the Oaks
The Everyday Home | Postcards from the Ridge | 2 Bees in a Pod
Are you ready? Here we go!
Home for the Holidays 2016
Holiday Mantels
Holiday Recipes
Holiday Crafts
Holiday Decor
Holiday Tablescapes
Love your rustic mantel! And that stag – what fun that he came from the Country Living fair!!
So glad you could join e for the tour again this year!
Sondra recently posted…Winter White Christmas Mantel
Thanks so much, Sondra! Thank you for organizing this awesome hop & for including me again this year 🙂
Your mantel is so beautiful, love everything about it. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you Celeste!
I love your simple and rustic mantel. All the little touches are just so perfect and I love all the white snowflakes.
Thanks Leanne!
So fun – love the snowflakes… it’s beautiful!
Thanks Maryann!
Your mantel looks so pretty decked out for Christmas! I love how you made it look like it is snowing with the snowflakes on the wall and I also love your deer head adorned with the white ball garland. The whole thing looks so festive and I know that you are really going to enjoy it between now and Christmas.
Thank you so much, Paula! I can’t wait till we get our tree up so I can curl up and enjoy the decorations 🙂
As you said – simple and rustic. Sometimes a simple, uncluttered look is the best. You’ve highlighted some great finds (and I too have TONS of things). It’s fun to try new ways with old things. Love it.
Rosemary Palmer recently posted…ONE-POT TURKEY ALFREDO WITH SPINACH AND BACON
Thank you Rosemary! I feel like I’m always adding more at the holidays, but it was nice to go with a simpler approach this year!
Emily, I love that your mantel incorporates so many elements that mean something to you….especially the cut out snowflakes that you and your husband cut together.That is so Sweet. Happy Holidays!
Thank you Laura!
Hi Emily! I’m thrilled to be joining you on this year’s HFTH tour! It’s nice to recognize a familiar face!
Those snowflakes are beautiful. I haven’t cut a snowflake in years, but not sure I could do the beautiful job that you two did. No wonder you keep the around from year to year.
Can’t wait to see the rest of your Christmas decorations.
Hope your week is off to a good start.
Hugs, Lynn
Hi Lynn! So glad you’re joining the tour this year. Funny story – we had to do a little internet research on how to cut paper snowflakes. I cut a few duds before I got the folding technique correct 😉 Have a wonderful week!
This is just beautiful Emily! I love the winter white and the snowflakes are perfection!
Lydi @ Lydi Out Loud recently posted…DIY Tiered Christmas Cookie Stand
Thank you so much Lydi!!
I would have never known that you and your husband cut out those pretty snowflakes. They are perfect! I love the simplicity of your decor and that stag head – loving him is definitely right! I love how you reused items that you already had and it works beautifully.
Thank you so much, Alli!
“I have acquired so many decorations over the years, and I was determined to use only decorations I had on hand!” you are speaking my language. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!
Haha, thanks Deborah 🙂 This was a good challenge for me 😉
I am UBER impressed with your paper snowflakes! They look like something Edward Scissorhands would have crafted!
Haha, thank you Heather 🙂
I love it all, especially that wooden crate and the little trees. And the snowflakes add such a fun touch!
Angie @ Postcards from the Ridge recently posted…Natural Rustic Christmas Table
Thanks so much Angie!
Beautiful mantel! Love the handmade snowflakes and your cute Santa.
Thanks Kristi!