Christmas Mantel DIY

I've written a post before about how much I am obsessed with the company Unfinished Wood Co. They have the cutest monogrammed items that you can customize to match your decor. Now that Christmas is coming up I wanted a Christmas mantel for my living room. I was getting bored of my silver mirror I had up simply because it wasn't a huge eye catcher. I'd been scouring the internet and Pinterest for inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites....

Source

Source

As you can see I have a slight theme to my obsession with mantles. I really wanted something with a deer head or antlers. I DID not want a real deer head that had been mounted because that's not my style. It seemed like I was having a hard time at all the stores I went to however finding a cute deer head. Then I lucked out on Groopdealz  and found an amazing deal on Unfinished Wood Company's Antler Monogram. 

I feel like this could be used year round if you have a rustic look to your home, but I wanted it specifically for my Christmas mantle. Therefore, as soon as it came in the mail I knew what I wanted to do with it. I ran to Home Depot and got their 12 oz. Gloss Apple Red General Purpose Spray Paint. 

I love Rust-Oleum spray paint! It always looks great on my projects plus it's a great deal since you get paint and primer in one. For my project I also needed red fine glitter. I already had some in my craft supplies so I gathered everything and went out side to get to work. I started by laying out my monogram on plastic sheeting and placed rocks along the edges to hold the plastic down in case a stray wind decided to mess up my project. I then started spraying. I used 2 coats of the Rust-Oleum to cover the whole thing and make sure no excess wood was showing. I don't think I even used half the container so I have extra for my next Unfinished Wood Co. project I'll be starting once my antler ornaments come in. 

As soon as I finished spraying before the paint was dry I got to work shaking glitter all over the piece.  I used the wet stickiness of the spray paint before it dried to stick the glitter to the antler monogram. I then left it sitting outside for 30-60 minutes to allow ample time to dry. 

As you can see there is glitter everywhere. That is exactly why I did it outside and on top of plastic. Once it was dry I gingerly picked it up and let the loose glitter fall off onto the plastic. I contemplated trying to conserve some of the excess glitter, but decided it just wasn't worth my time during the busy Christmas season. I then bundled up the plastic and threw it all in a bag and straight to my dumpster. After that I carried my new Antler Monogram into my living room and hung it on my mantle.

I still have more to do to "complete" my mantle, but I love how the glitter monogram looks with the glitter on the candle centerpiece and the glitter in the Merry Christmas banner. I think it takes time to accumulate all you need to have a full mantle like the ones you see on Pinterest. I think for our first Christmas in this house I'm pretty proud of what we have so far. I especially love our tree!