This year, my Christmas theme is enchanted forest/woodland and I LOVE it! I wanted to use natural elements as much as possible. Most things, I picked up alongside the road or on my morning walks near the woods.

The branch above the mantel is about my favorite thing ever and I am seriously considering leaving it up after Christmas. No human can create such delicate, random, beautiful lines as those you find in a tree’s bare branches. This one was on the forest floor, a victim of recent storms. It has a new life now! I glittered about a million stars (okay, a hundred is more accurate), drilled a hole in the top of each one and hung them in the branch’s fingers with fishing line. The branch is very light so all I needed to secure it to the wall was a couple nails and twine. Cardinals have a very special meaning to me so I wanted one to live nestled amongst the mistletoe at the end of the branch.

The mantelpiece is lined in feather trim (check the sewing store if you want some of your own) and decked out with cranberry garland. I wired a string of greenery and painted it gold to add another layer of garland and spread reindeer moss (so appropriate, right?) on top of the mantel with a string of white Christmas lights behind for dimension and sparkle.

I even love it without the stockings: