(Check out The Inspired Room Christmas Home Tour)
Sometimes as bloggers, we do crazy things for the sake of a post. You don’t always hear about it, and most likely, you don’t see it, but I thought I’d give you a small glimpse at my attempt to finish my Christmas mantle in time for Rhoda’s Holiday Home.
It all started with a mirror (at 12:20 am) – a beautiful round mirror that I had planned on hanging over the $5 white, thrift store shutters that sit atop my mantle for the expressed purpose of layering.
My plan: shutters, then mirror, then wreath. Simple, frugal, classy, quick.
In past years, I’ve gone for big garlands, and some grand Christmas Mantel Decor. This year, I wanted simple. This entire Trash to Treasure mantel look can be achieved for around $10 if you shop thrift stores and yard sales for candles, glass candle holders, etc. I love to get the creative juices going by using what I have, but still need to cut some fresh greens to add to it from the outside.
Easy peasey, or so I thought.

When I went to hang the round “mirror,” there was no way to hang it. The back was perfectly flat. There was no hook. I didn’t  have anything with which to hang it, nor did I want to spend more for a mirror hanger than the mirror itself cost..
Considering it was already midnight; I had just gotten home from my husband’s work Christmas party, I panicked for a brief moment, then went to my “magic spot” where I have numerous yard sale mirrors to choose from and found choice #2.
The problem? The mahogany would not work with the all silver, glass, white lights look I was going for, so I decided to instantly find a solution and spray paint the mirror silver – perfect for my classy, Christmas look.
What was I thinking? I wasn’t, but the extra cups of regular coffee with dessert had now kicked in, so I thought I would get it all done. Just a “little” spray paint in the house will be such a quick and easy solution, or so I thought. Well, after an hour, a few paint sprays on the kitchen floor, more paint on my hands, nails and face, it was time to hang the masterpiece (still wet). I pounded a nail into the shutters, woke the kids up, but knew it would be worth the bedlam that had previously ensued.
Little did I realize…

that my perfectly centered nail was pounded into the shutter handle, and the handle had been up. As soon as I hung the mirror, all of a sudden the mirror dropped two inches causing the entire shutter and mirror display to get off balance and start falling toward me. No worries that I already had all the candles burning, it just added to the dynamics of the moment. (It would have been perfect to catch that in an action photo shot. 🙂
I tried to fix it, but knew it would take more gumption than I could muster at the moment.

I then tried hanging just my $2 yard sale wreath over the mantel, but I definitely didn’t like that look without the mirror layered behind it, so I decided to call it a night and let you see the REAL bedlam that can occur behind those “picture perfect” moments.

Remember sweet ladies, as you browse blogland for beautiful Christmas ideas, we bloggers show you just what we want to show you.
I could have omitted all the previous bedlam verbiage, and just shown you a beautifully, frugal $10 Trash to Treasure type of mantle. I could have left  you with this beautiful candle picture below, and woo-ed you with the fact that I can achieve sheer decorating bliss with just this $0.25 candle and a gold ornament.
You would be impressed, but a small part of you may start to feel like you don’t quite measure up to all those “Home Beautiful” posts you see every day.

I could remind you of my glorious Goodwill find of this white hutch, and share how it’s the perfect back drop for my cozy Christmas village display, which it is, and I am so thankful for it, but it wouldn’t be the whole story if I left it at that.

The whole story of my Christmas mantel is that in reality, I am going to bed with my great room looking like this – mounds of laundry, paired with boxes of Christmas decorations that have yet to be put up.
How’s that for layering? (My Type A friends are running for the hills right now.)

My desire is that you  remember we don’t live in a Pinterest Perfect World.
Sometimes in blog land it feels as if everyone else’s home must be perfectly in order, and  somehow we are the only who just can’t quite get there. Don’t believe that lie.
Glean inspiration and encouragement from beautiful blogs. Get ideas and tips from Pinterest, but never, ever think that what you see is always reality.
As bloggers, we choose to show you what we want to, and hopefully, this post is a reminder of that. We are all in this journey together. Honestly, more than ever, I am reminded of just how much help I really need. Give ourselves the grace we need to thrive, and sometimes, just “survive.”
P.S. The Final Mantle Project….to be continued
P.P.S. 24 hours later and the laundry is still there (sometimes, that’s just life).