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....

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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!

Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

I have been obsessed with pumpkin everything lately. I have even made an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it called Pumpkin Possibilities. It is full of all kinds of pumpkin recipes, including cakes, pies, cookies, coffees, spreads, pancakes, and much much more. Well along with my pumpkin pinteresting I have also been scouring my local stores for anything pumpkin. I kept seeing the pumpkin spice chai latte mix tempting me every time I went to the store. I finally gave in and purchased it.

I think I was a little too overexcited about this purchase. As soon as I got home I made myself a large cup of it....maybe a little too large of a cup. I mixed 1 cup of the pumpkin spice chai latte with 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, then threw it in a Starbucks cup with a handful of ice. To top it all off I sprinkled a tad bit of pumpkin pie spice on top. Oh my gosh it was so good. It was the perfect drink to complement my day of relaxation enjoying the outdoors.

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I think next I'll try out these pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese icing and fondant pumpkins. To make it a little easier I'll just switch out the fondant pumpkins for the candy corn pumpkins you can find in clearance sections at grocery stores everywhere right now.

<3 Kelly Jean